Injured RBs - Run Away from Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette?

October 16, 2018

Fantasy football owners have been frustrated by running backs Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette all season. Dom Petrillo advises whether to hold, sell, or buy-low on these RBs for the second half of the 2018 NFL season.

Some players have the decency to go on injured reserve when injured. Players like Marshawn Lynch and Devonta Freeman come to mind. They know how important knowing their injury status is to fantasy football owners and they really seem to care about our teams. Players like this are a rare breed and if you ask me, should be in consideration for the Walter Payton Award for Kindness as they help millions by relieving stress and anxiety without medications or costly therapy.

Other players do not have the kindness in their heart to be so considerate and therefore cause a lot of anxious moments for their fantasy owners. Some, like Le’Veon Bell, are just selfish and we won’t be talking about them here. But others, like Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette, really feel they can make it back "any day now" and their teams want them back. Sadly, due to their injuries, they are causing the rest of us headaches.

So, let us leave the players like Lynch and Freeman out of the conversation and for our purposes look at Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette. Deciding what to do with them could mean a playoff berth or sitting at home watching someone else rack up points in the championship game. Yes, you'd be sitting at home anyway but I mean isn’t fantasy football really just football for couch potatoes anyway?

Stay the Course or Cut Bait?

Leonard Fournette (RB, JAX)
The first of the players who we need to know about is Leonard Fournette in Jacksonville. He has been in and out of the lineup a few times this season and at this point, he should remain out until completely healthy. He has had soft tissue injuries going back to his days in high school and he seems to be overly prone to them at this point. He is a stud when healthy, but the concerning point is, he is rarely healthy. The Jaguars travel to their home game in London in Week 8 followed by a bye week meaning the earliest you may see him in action is Week 10. Most leagues have a trade deadline of Week 11, so this will not give you much time to decide on what to do with him.

Jacksonville has a decent replacement in T.J. Yeldon and also traded a fifth-round pick to Cleveland for Carlos Hyde meaning the concern of Fournette being of any value as an RB1 this season should be real. If your team is good enough to hold him in hopes he comes back in later weeks and stays healthy to help you in the playoffs, well, congratulations. Most likely this is not the case though. If you can trade him now, even for fifty cents on the dollar, do it. If you can get a player like Kenyan Drake or even his replacement in Jacksonville, Carlos Hyde, this would be a smart move. Not only is he uncertain to return to full health, but with the colder weather coming later in the season, groins and hamstrings tend to tighten up a little quicker and he has already said he does not like to play in the cold.

Dalvin Cook (RB, MIN)
The situation with Cook, although just as stressful, is a little different than that of Fournette. For one, the Vikings are in first place and seemingly getting better as the season is going on whereas the Jaguars are on a clear decline. The Vikings behind Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen’s record-breaking start to the season and the running of Latavius Murray are leading a weak NFC North and look poised to keep their momentum brought over from last seasons success. Dalvin Cook, coming off a serious ACL injury suffered last season has now been sidelined by a groin injury in the other leg which was most likely caused by compensating for his injured leg upon his return. While he has missed a lot of time, he has had a lot of practice which makes it seem like they are holding him out for precautionary reasons until he is truly needed come stretch and playoff time. If this is the case, and I hope it is, they are playing it smart getting Murray action in case they need him and also to allow him to be part of a committee when Cook finally does return. With Cook missing four games, Murray has been able to compile 330 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 69 carries. He has a very nice 4.8 yards per carry average behind a suspect offensive line, not to mention adding 12 receptions on 15 targets for another 77 yards.

While receiving is not a big part of the game for Murray, it is good to see him show some ability in this area in the absence of Cook as this was the Jerick McKinnon role in 2017 with Cook on the sidelines. With Murray performing admirably in his absence, look for Cook to be given as much time as needed to get back to full health before rejoining the starters on the field. He is also there for very difficult to keep on your team past the trade deadline not knowing what is to come later in the season. He does, however, play for a better team with a better offense and my feeling is if you are going to take a chance on one of the backs to have an impact and therefore be worth keeping on your team, the clear choice is Dalvin Cook. I was much higher on Cook coming out of college than I was Fournette and nothing has caused me to change my mind as of yet. He is a better all-around player and when on the field he provides much more upside than Leonard Fournette.

When it comes to both Cook and Fournette you are taking a chance whether you keep them or trade them as they could either hurt your team depth or come back to haunt you this Halloween season by performing for their new team if traded. But this is the fun part of fantasy football as well as the frustrating part. Making these decisions and seeing how they turn out. Everyone says they could be a better General Manager than the person running their favorite. In most cases, this is not true. Except for maybe the Broncos and Cowboys. Sorry, Elway and Jones but you guys stink. But in a small way, this is your chance to see if this is truly the case so have fun and make the winning decisions to get your team over the hump.

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