Dalvin Cook would be a dream fit for Washington's scheme

The Redskins muddled through at running back last season after Matthew Jones was benched for the seventh fumble of his young career. Undrafted free agent Rob Kelley enjoyed a promising start to life in the NFL, but an elite back would elevate Washington’s ground game to one of the league’s best.

• The PFF analyst in charge of Washington selected Florida State RB Dalvin Cook with the 17th pick in our seven-round mock. He is a perfect fit for the Redskins’ zone scheme (called on 53 percent of runs in 2016), carrying 189 times for 1,055 Yards on those type of runs in 2016 in college.
• Cook led the FBS in elusive rating, breaking 99 tackles (92 on rushes, seven on receptions), while also averaging 4.19 yards after contact. He had the fourth-highest overall grade among backs in this draft class (88.8) and is the No. 1 running back on PFF’s big board.
• Washington starter Rob Kelley ranked 26th in overall grade (71.0) and 14th in yards after contact per attempt (2.8).
• Cook’s elusive rating of 129.4 highlights the upgrade he would provide compared with Chris Thompson (61.6 elusive rating), Kelley (61.5), and Matt Jones (31.9).
• Cook averaged 5.6 yards per carry on zone runs last season, a significant improvement on FBS average of 5.1.
• If carried over to the pro level, that yards-per-carry number would improve upon the combined effort of the Washington backfield, which averaged an impressive 4.6 yards per carry on zone (NFL average is 4.1).

Fantasy Slant: Cook to the Redskins would be a death knell for Kelly's 2017 fantasy value. An explosive playmaker with three-down ability, Cook would slot in as an RB2 with upside if he lands in Washington. For more on Cooks future fantasy outlook, be sure to check out our pre-draft running back profiles.