GettyCowboys RB Dalvin Cook
The Cowboys have a lot to sift through following the Week 2 drubbing the team took at the hands of the Saints, and while the defense was, understandably, the big cause of concern, the fact is that the offense was not much better in the 44-19 blowout. Dallas’ attacking defense works best with a lead (what defense does not?), and was we saw so often in 2023, when the offense does not give the team a leg up, everything tends to collapse.
While there is no cavalry on the way to rescue the Cowboys, there is at least one glimmer of hope that might help solve one of the offense’s biggest weaknesses: the run game. And that glimmer is veteran Dalvin Cook.
Coach Mike McCarthy was asked about the possibility of a Cook return, and when that might come.
“Dalvin looks good,” McCarthy said. “Understanding that a big thing for a vet is just the terminology, you know, frankly and just the language adjustment. I think he has progressed very, very nicely since he’s been here. He’s as natural of an outside zone runner that I’ve competed against. So, he looks good. Yeah, he’s getting there.”
Dalvin Cook Could Debut vs. Former Team
Cook was signed to the Cowboys practice squad on August 28 and has not been elevated to the 53-man roster yet. Before the game against the Saints, McCarthy suggested that Cook could make his debut this week against the Ravens, because if he did not play in Week 3, it is unlikely the team would squeeze him into the game plan for Week 4, when the Cowboys have a short week, with a Thursday night game.
The Ravens happen to be the team that Cook signed with late last year for the playoffs, after he was released by the Jets.
There’s some question about how effective Cook could yet be, of course, at age 29 and coming off a rough 2023. He is just one year removed from a run of four seasons in which he topped 1,100 yards rushing with the Vikings, tallying 43 touchdowns in those four seasons. He left the Vikings for the Jets last year, but never carved out a role (67 carries, 214 yards) in New York behind starter Breece Hall, and wound up out of the rotation altogether, eventually being released before joining the Ravens.
Cowboys RB ‘Committee’ Has Flopped so Far
The Cowboys, of course, are attempting to use a running-back “committee,” a controversial approach they took this season after letting Tony Pollard walk in free agency last year and failing to draft a replacement. Veteran Ezekiel Elliott, whom the Cowboys had let go the previous season, was their only running back addition.
It’s a small sample size, but so far, the Cowboys have gained just 170 yards on the ground, 25th in the NFL. Their average of 3.7 yards per attempt ranks 26th. At Pro Football Focus, Elliott has a grade of 56.6, which is 58th among 54 NFL running back. The No. 2 option, Rico Dowdle, is at 64.5, which is 31st.
The Cowboys are weighing their options with Cook, and doing so at all positions.
“I think you’re always looking,” McCarthy said of the evaluations. “Yeah, we treat everybody in the building the same as far as consideration. So that’s a constant, that’s the beauty of having a competitive environment. I wouldn’t just put it, focus on that one area.”
