Cooking Up Some Early Preseason Drama

Last year it was Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon threatening to hold out with Zeke's holdout arguably creating the most drama. This year our drama started earlier with a global pandemic hanging over the season and now word this week that Vikings RB Dalvin Cook does not intent to participate in any team-related activities until he gets a "reasonable extension."

Cook is coming off a fantastic season where he rushed for 1,135 yards and saw the endzone 13 times. He also chipped in 53 receptions for 519 yards. He finished the season as the 5th-best RB (standard scoring). He's a stud, but he has to be on the field to be able to contribute to your team.

When Le'Veon Bell held out, fantasy owners who grabbed James Conner were immediately rewarded.

When Melvin Gordon held out, fantasy owners who grabbed Austin Ekeler were immediately rewarded.

If Dalvin Cook holds out, fantasy owners would be wise to grab for Alexander Mattison or Mike Boone.

Most fantasy drafts are two months away so we've got some time here to let things shake out. It's also important to put Cook's situation in perspective. He'll have to report to the team if we wants this season to count which is similar to the situation that we saw with Melvin Gordon. While Cook's holdout adds some risk to his fantasy value, he's still an incredible talent and would be instantly plugged into RB1 the moment he steps onto the field.

For now, let's wait until we get closer to training camps before making any decisions on Cook.

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