NFL insider predicts Dalvin Cook will sign with a 'surprise' team

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero believes the football world may be surprised with Dalvin Cook‘s next team.

In comparing the two biggest offensive free agents on the market at the moment in Cook and former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, Pelissero made an interesting remark regarding where he believes both will end up.

“I mean listen, I think that Dalvin Cook is going to land with a surprise team,” explained Pelissero on The Rich Eisen Show. “I think that DeAndre Hopkins is most likely going to land with one of the teams we think it’s going to be.”

While some teams have been suspected, like the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos and New York Jets, Pelissero believes almost every team could make a case for signing Cook, aside from the Vikings, of course.

“Dalvin Cook, he’s a running back. He’s a really good running back. You can drop him in to any one of the 32 teams, I think probably not back to Minnesota, but the other 31 teams and he’s going to be productive,” added Pelissero. “Now there’s some fits that are going to be better than others, there’s no question about it. What’d he tell us yesterday, ‘I want to go a place where I’m valued, want to go a place where I’m getting the football. I’m not looking to go into some place and be a rotational back.’ Not at this stage of his career. He’s a guy who, he gets lathered up. He thrives on volume. That’s what he’s going to want. 

“What spot is that? Give me the field. If it’s the Dolphins or Broncos versus the field … I’ll take the field. I’ll take the field.”

Moreover, 27-year-old Cook is third in Vikings’ franchise history at the 5,993 rushing yards. He played in every regular season game for the first time in 2022, finishing the season with 264 carries for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns.

Additionally, Cook has rushed for over 1,100 yards over the past four seasons and is second in the NFL over that time frame in scrimmage yards per game. He has also snagged 221 catches in his six-year career for 1,794 yards and five touchdowns.

It’s easy to see why a bevy of franchises would be interested in Cook’s services. Now, it’s just a matter of which team will give the former Florida State Seminoles star the bag.

Time will tell, but Dalvin Cook will make one team that much better in 2023, it just remains to be seen where that is.