Mike Boone Could Be A League-Winner

Dalvin Cook has had a fantastic season on his way to averaging 20.9 fantasy points per week. Entering Sunday, Cook was the RB2 in points per game, behind just Christian McCaffrey. While doing so, he’s shed the injury-prone label he carried with him through his first two seasons in the NFL. Cook missed 12 games during his rookie season and five games last year. This year he’s been able to suit every week and hasn’t missed a game. Yet.

For the second time in three weeks, Cook went down with a shoulder injury on Sunday. Though Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer stated that Cook “feels good” Monday, he was non-committal on if Cook would play next Monday night. Cook was injured with over 14 minutes remaining in the third quarter on Sunday and was unable to return. Alexander Mattison was inactive as well Sunday, so it was another running back who stepped up in Cook’s absence.

Import your team to My Playbook for instant Lineup advice

Player Profile

The Vikings signed Mike Boone as an undrafted free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. Playing in the American Conference during his four years at Cincinnati certainly didn’t help his draft profile. Though Boone was productive with the workload he was given, he only averaged 10.5 rushing attempts per game during his college career, which also hurt his draft profile. He went uninvited to the NFL Combine, and despite an impressive Pro Day, every NFL team passed on him (multiple times). The Vikings liked him enough to sign him once the draft concluded. Boone made Minnesota’s roster out of training camp and was active for eight games, though he saw very little work.

A good blend of power and speed, Boone showed off an impressive stiff arm in last year’s preseason.

He's the @Vikings rookie RB with a DEVASTATING stiff arm. ???

Every touch from Mike Boone's 91-yard, 1 TD performance! #JAXvsMIN #NFLPreseason pic.twitter.com/JJ2qBZgasg

— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2018

Even with the addition of Alexander Mattison to the roster in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Boone still was able to keep his roster spot on the Vikings, even breaking off an impressive touchdown run against the Saints in the preseason.

MIKE BOONE.

64-yard sprint for the @Vikings TD!@_lococinco | #MINvsNO pic.twitter.com/0B2xgX6CvP

— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2019

Behind both Cook and Mattison on the depth chart, Boone entered Sunday with a total of eight rushing attempts on the season. But he filled in nicely once Cook went down. Zimmer had this to say about his performance:

“I thought Boone really did a nice job. He ran hard,” Zimmer said. “When Dalvin was in there, it was a little tougher sledding just because some [Chargers defenders] out-ran some of our guys to get to some of the plays, but overall, I thought it was good.”

He even scored his first career touchdown (actually his first two career touchdowns).

Touchdown Mike Boone#Vikings up 32-10 pic.twitter.com/Qu7m8236PQ

— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) December 15, 2019

In just about two-quarters of play, Boone ran 13 times, including those touchdowns, for 56 yards.

Outlook

If Dalvin Cook and Mattison are unable to play next week, Boone is a running back you can slot in and expect to give you RB2 production (at least). Monday night’s matchup against Green Bay is a dream scenario. The Packers are giving up 31.1 points per game to the running back position, the sixth-most in the league. Meanwhile, the Vikings have attempted the third-most rushing attempts in the league — it’s a match made in heaven. If Boone is the starter, he’s going to get at least 15 rushing attempts, and the Packers are going to allow him chunk yards and hopefully a touchdown or two. If you already own Cook and Mattison, it’s your absolute duty to pick Boone up. Even if you don’t own those two, you should still add Boone to your roster in case he ends up as the starter next Monday night.

Running backs to consider dropping for Boone based on our Rest of Season rankings:

Get free start/sit and waiver wire advice for your fantasy team