The Dalvin Cook discussion will not go away
Everyone knew coming into the season that the Dallas Cowboys were in need of help at the running back position, especially after Tony Pollard left for the Tennessee Titans in free agency. They Cowboys decided not to meaningfully address that during the free agency period or the draft, leaving them in a tough spot despite bringing back veteran Ezekiel Elliott.
It simply hasn’t worked so far for the Cowboys in the running game. It’s the worst in the NFL at 77 yards per game. In fact, the second longest run by the Cowboys this season came from wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, which is further evidence of how bad it’s been toting the rock. So, with that being said, the time is right for Dallas to finally pull the trigger on veteran Dalvin Cook and have him added to the active roster from the practice squad.
Rico Dowdle has been the most effective runner for the Cowboys, but he’s only averaging a little over 40 yards a game. He mentioned that the Cowboys were tweaking some things heading into playing the San Francisco 49ers. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer mentioned that one of the ways that Dallas wants to be effective is running outside zone. We’ll, throughout his career, that’s where Cook has shined. Getting him on the edge and allowing him to make one cut and get upfield has been his bread and butter. Is he what he once was? Of course not. However, if anyone on the Cowboys can have a shot in the outside zone concept, it is more than likely Cook. With the current state of the running back room, what do the Cowboys have to lose at this point?
Head coach Mike McCarthy spoke about the running back situation, and he mentioned that Cook has been getting reps with the first team. That was also confirmed by Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com on Friday on the AtoZSports morning show. So, it looks like this week is the chance to see Cook take the field for the first time in 2024, and quite frankly, the Cowboys need to see what he has. Dallas needs a win, and this won’t be easy even with a banged up 49ers team. It makes perfect sense to go all out and push all the chips to the middle of the table this Sunday, and one of them should be getting Cook in the mix and see if they can salvage this rushing attack.
