Should I Drop Dalvin Cook In Week 5? Fantasy Football Outlook

October 4, 2023

Should I drop Dalvin Cook for fantasy football Week 5? Is Dalvin Cook a safe player to cut? Read the fantasy football waivers outlook.

Dalvin Cook had run for over 1,000 yards four straight times before this season began. When he signed with the New York Jets, it seemed like the Jets were going to have a dynamic offense with Cook, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers.

Unfortunately, Rodgers went down with a season-ending injury on his first drive, and we never got to see what the Jets' offense would have looked like. Worse, Cook has produced poorly when he has been on the field. He is only averaging 2.47 yards per carry.

Is Dalvin cooked? Does he deserve a place on your fantasy roster, or should you cut him?

Is Dalvin Cook A Good Fantasy Football Running Back?

Dalvin Cook has rushed for just 74 yards in four games. Many top-notch running backs do that in a single game. His lack of carries isn't helping. He had 13 carries in Week 1, but since then, he carried the ball 4 times, 8 times, and 5 times.

Jets media pundits like Conor Hughes of SNY are piling on the team's recent addition, calling him a bust. Hughes said, “It’s Dalvin Cook. When the Jets signed him, I didn’t think they were going to get vintage Dalvin Cook but he has just looked slow, he looks like he lacks explosiveness, there’s no burst, and he doesn’t look like a player who can really do anything for this offense."

Breece Hall hasn't been very productive either. Part of that is because the Jets face stacked boxes all the time. Opponents just aren't scared of Zach Wilson throwing the football. Dalvin Cook's yards before contact this season are down to 1.3 from 2.6. His yards after contact are also down. But he would never have been as successful on Zach Wilson's Jets as he would have been on Aaron Rodgers' Jets.

Can I Drop Dalvin Cook in Fantasy Football?

Dalvin Cook is rostered by 77% of Yahoo fantasy football managers, but he is increasingly being dropped. Over 2,000 people dropped him this week. However, that number was dwarfed by the 5,100 people who added Cook. Some fantasy managers think it's a good time to add Cook to take advantage of his increased availability.

Should you keep Cook or cut him? If you keep him, he probably won't produce much for you. He is only the RB60 in standard scoring and the RB54 in PPR. Since Rodgers went down, Cook has only scored 8.9 fantasy points in PPR.

There are other running backs who might be available who are scoring more fantasy points than Cook, including Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kenneth Gainwell, Rico Dowdle, Tyjae Spears, and Samaje Perine. Cook is a cut candidate in 12-team leagues.

Should I Start Dalvin Cook in Week 5?

The New York Jets face the Denver Broncos in Week 5. The Broncos are one of the worst defenses in the league. In the past two weeks, the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears produced huge fantasy outputs against the Broncos.

The Broncos are allowing 176.0 rushing yards per game (No. 1 most), 1.8 rushing touchdowns per game (tied for No. 1), 5.6 yards per attempt (No. 2), and 0.01 estimated points per rush attempt (No. 4).

But none of that matters if Dalvin Cook doesn't get carries. He's been limited to five or fewer carries in two of the past three games. Cook's carries have mostly come in the first half (17 to 13), so it's possible that he could earn more carries if he does more with his early carries. However, it is a big gamble to think that Cook will suddenly be a major part of the Jets' offense. Even if he is, it is a poor offense. Cook is only a desperation start.

More Fantasy Football Analysis