Fantasy Football Player Notes

Cook caused some waves early in the offseason with discussions of a potential holdout, but the new CBA essentially makes holding out a no-win situation for a player, and Cook reported when camp opened. There's no doubting Cook's value when healthy. Gary Kubiak will likely continue to employ the run-blocking scheme that fit Cook so well last year, and Cook is one of perhaps five players or so who has a legitimate chance to finish as the No. 1 running back in fantasy. The key, of course, is the "when healthy" part, as Cook has played in just 29 of 48 games in his young career. And, despite the futility of a holdout, Cook's unhappiness with his contract could potentially lead him to protect himself more than he otherwise would with minor injuries. But all of that is just window dressing given Cook's talent. His nearly limitless ceiling dictates that he be taken as a top-5 or 6 back, though drafters would be wise to lock up Alexander Mattison in the later rounds.

He's the clear-cut No. 1 option in the Vikings pass attack, and judging how their defense has looked in their first two games, we're going to see plenty of pass-happy games out of Kirk Cousins. Sure, he looked horrendous in Week 2, but that's a blip on the radar, and one that'll allow you to buy Thielen for WR2 prices.

Mattison is the best handcuff in fantasy football - period. He excelled last year whenever he got on the field, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, and clearly looked capable of taking on a featured role if called upon. On a team that ran the ball 48% last year (4th-most in the league), Mattison could be a league-winner if Dalvin Cook were to miss significant time, and should be stashed in every league.

Smith played a fair amount in his rookie season, but he's still second fiddle to Kyle Rudolph. Although the two tight ends essentially split targets last year, Smith was used fairly closer to the line of scrimmage and almost never had a chance to break big plays. He may see a bit more usage now with plenty of vacated targets in the absence of Stefon Diggs, but he's nothing better than a low-end TE2.