Dalvin Cook has been a projected first round pick in tomorrow’s NFL Draft – but one newspaper says he’s the most explosive big name running back.
In just one day, former FSU football running back Dalvin Cook could become the next great Seminole to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. While there have been questions of late about where the talented back will end up going and which round he will be taken in, there is no doubt that whichever team takes him will get one of the most talented – if not THE most talented – players in the whole draft.
As it turns out, one major newspaper seems to feel the same way. Last weekend, Thomas Bassinger of the Tampa Bay Times – covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who seem to be really interested in reuniting Cook with Jamies Winston if you believe everything – posted an article that points out what FSU football fans already knew…Dalvin Cook is the most explosive back of the three big names in this year’s draft
"To determine who has been the most explosive running back, we combed through the play-by-play of hundreds of games and tallied the runs of at least 12 yards and the passes of at least 16 yards. And of the three, the player with the most explosive plays was …Dalvin Cook.The former Seminole had 125 during his collegiate career, while (Stanford’s Christian) McCaffrey had 95 and (LSU’s Leonard) Fournette had 88."
Florida State Seminoles Football
Bassinger would later try to make it an even playing field for the former stars, since neither one of them played as much as Dalvin Cook last season. He adjusted the number to explosive plays per every 100 touches of the ball – and Cook STILL came out on top with an explosive play every 16.3 times he touched the ball as opposed to 13.4 for McCaffrey and 13 for Fournette.
With numbers like that, you can’t help but scratch your head at why Dalvin Cook doesn’t get the same love as the other two. He was healthy last season, so that takes away the argument of his durability. His off field issues were almost two years ago (of which he was found not guilty of, mind you) and he has been a model citizen since.
The truth is, Fournette was destined to be the first running back taken ever since he was a high school prodigy signing with the Tigers. McCaffrey has been the flavor of the week since he started feasting on weak Pac-12 defenses several years ago. Don’t get me wrong, both players are extremely talented – but there is no more explosive back in this year’s draft among that big names than Dalvin Cook.