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FSU Football Alums: Dalvin Cook called breakout fantasy star in 2018

Jason Parker
Jason Parker

Chop Chat

ORCHARD PARK, NY - AUGUST 10: Dalvin Cook #33 of the Minnesota Vikings carries the ball during the first quarter of a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on August 10, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

FSU football fans are hoping for a bounce back year from Dalvin Cook after his knee injury, and he’s already getting some love from fantasy experts.

Throughout the first 13 quarters of the 2017 NFL season, former FSU football star Dalvin Cook was doing work for the Minnesota Vikings and setting himself up in the conversation to be the league’s Rookie of The Year – rushing for over 350 yards with two touchdowns, including setting the team’s rookie rushing yards record for a single game.

All that changed during the fourth game of the season, when Cook went down with an injury against the Detroit Lions that turned out to be a torn ACL – ending his rookie campaign before it truly had a chance to get started.

Now, Cook is back at it practicing in an effort to get back on the field near the form he was at to start 2017 – and the former FSU football star is getting noticed by everyone from his teammates to the press to, yes, even fantasy football experts.

NFL.com ranked the players they see as fantasy breakout stars for the 2018 season, with Cook coming in second overall.

"He’s slated to be back at 100 percent in time for training camp, however, and the departure of Jerick McKinnon all but guarantees a featured role for 2018. Cook has the skill set to be a top-10 runner in all fantasy formats."

Cook was ahead of McKinnon before he went down with the injury, so there is no reason to believe that he will not be able to get back his spot now with no real competition – barring a major setback in the recovery process.

FSU football fans have plenty of loyalty and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there salivating at the thought of drafting Cook for their team (me being one of them – heck, I won a league one season drafting almost all Seminoles, so it can be done).

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Now, it’s not just going to be those in garnet and gold or purple and yellow who are going to want a piece of the man wearing No. 33 at this point – if you want to win at fantasy football this season, picking Dalvin might be a heck of a way to get the job done.

Jason Parker

Jason Parker

Jason Parker joined ChopChat in March 2016 as co-expert while also writing for a year with FanSided, focusing on college football and the NFL. He has spent 15 years in the sports media business - including over a decade working for TV stations in both Tallahassee and Miami. There, he has covered events that include everything from the Super Bowl to the NBA Finals to countless bowl games and National Championships. Jason added writing sports on the web to his resume in 2014, serving as a staff writer and college football insider for another site before becoming editor-in-chief. He graduated from FSU with a B.A. in Communication and may be the biggest 'Noles fan there is. Jason resides in South Florida surrounded by way too many fans of the 'Canes, but at least they aren't as many Gators.