Dalvin Cook Injury Update Could Boost Alexander Mattison or Mike Boone Fantasy Outlook for Week 16

One of the top fantasy running backs of the season, Dalvin Cook may be missing when owners need him most. The Minnesota Vikings bell-cow went down with a shoulder injury in Week 15, and he was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Cook has been nursing this injury for a while, and that has made Alexander Mattison a near must-own in fantasy football. Mattison is also out in Week 15, though, meaning Ameer Abdullah and Mike Boone enter the conversation as the Vikings' only active RBs.

Heading into Week 15, the Vikes had fed Cook 18.3 carries plus 4.8 targets per game this season, and his potential absence would free up a ton of volume. He played fewer than 50 percent of the offensive snaps in both Weeks 13 and 14, and Mattison stepped up with a combined 18 carries plus seven targets in those contests.

Keep a close eye on this situation heading into Week 16, as whoever the Vikings starter is will be a terrific fantasy play.

Cook will be firmly in the RB1 conversation if he starts, and Mattison would still be a high-end RB2 range. The unproven Boone would be the least exciting starter, but if both Cook and Mattison sit then he would be well worth consideration as an RB2 against the Green Bay Packers, who entered Week 15 ranking 26th in Football Outsiders' run defense DVOA rankings.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.