Taking A Closer Look At Darvin Cook

The most talked about player that the Eagles could draft in the first round is Florida State running back, Darvin Cook.  Cook is definitely a special talent and he will be working out for the scouts today at his Pro Day in Tallahassee, Florida.

Cook is a special player, who has been extremely productive as a Seminole. In 2014, he carried the ball 170 times for 1,008 yards and 8 touchdowns.  In 2015, Cook carried the ball 229 times for 1,691 yards and 19 touchdowns.  Then this past season, he carried the ball 288 times for 1,765 yards and 19 touchdowns.

He is a game breaker, who can also catch the football out of the backfield, which is tremendously valuable in today’s game.  There’s no question that Cook is a game breaker.

Today is Cook’s Pro Day and player personnel directors throughout the league are eager to see him workout. I personally think his workout is a big deal because he had some performances at the NFL Combine that made me scratch your head.  Remember, the Combine and the Pro Days are supposed to validate what you see on tape.

Cook ran a 4.49 40-yard dash at Combine, which is a good number.  He will be trying to improve his time on the 20-yard shuttle and the three-cone drill.  His 4.53 time in the 20-yard shuttle is slow for a player, who is supposed to separate himself from other players because of his quickness and speed.  The 7.27 in the 3-cone drill is also slow for a running back like Cook.

Regardless of your quickness and speed, you will have a slow time in these drills, if you don’t use good technique.  Good technique means staying low on your start and not taking any wasted steps.  Players who work on these drills run good times.  Players who just show up and run, don’t run good times.

The 30.5 in the vertical jump and 116 broad jump are just okay numbers for a running back of Cook’s caliber.  All these average numbers are reasons for teams to take a close look at Cook at his workout today.  I expect some good numbers out of Cook on Tuesday.

If he does have a good workout today, I’m still not sold on Cook because I don’t think he’s going to be able to stay healthy in the NFL.  He’s got good size for a speedy back at 5’10” 210 pounds, but he fumbles a lot and has already had three shoulder surgeries, one in high school and two at Florida State.  He has torn his labrum in his left shoulder once and in his right shoulder twice.  Cook has gone through three surgeries to repair those shoulder injuries.

How long of a career is Cook going have?  Does it make sense to use the 14th pick in the first round on a player, who has already had three shoulder surgeries.   Remember running backs get harder and more often than any other players in the NFL.  Many of them don’t have long careers.

This is the number one reason why I don’t think Cook is a good investment for the Eagles.  If his shoulders couldn’t take the pounding at Florida State, there’s no way they’re going to be able to stand up to the hits he’s going to take in the NFL.  Most running backs don’t last long in the NFL because they get pounded on a consistent basis.

Cook has also had problems off the field.  He was accused of a couple of crimes in high school, but cleared of them.  He also was accused of punching a young lady a couple of years ago at Florida State.  He went to trial and was acquitted.  Hopefully, Cook will put these types of incidents in his rear view mirror.