Dalvin Cook could be a nice second-option for the Houston Texans

By the time you read this, Dalvin Cook may be a free agent, open to signing with any NFL team about to make the postseason. A Pro Bowl running back just last season in 2022, Cook moved on from the Minnesota Vikings and joined up with the New York Jets, forming what many thought would be a super team with Aaron Rodgers under center. That never happened and Cook was never truly utilized as he should've been with the Jets.

So the Jets have opted to move on from Cook, allowing him to go anywhere else he wants to close out the year. The usual suspects have been named, like the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, but one team that could really use Cook is your beloved Houston Texans.

The Texans have a real stud in running back Devin Singletary, so it doesn't make a ton of sense on the surface for the Texans to land Cook, but it actually does if you look deeper. The Texans' backup running back is Dameon Pierce while younger than Cook, isn't very good. He has fallen off a cliff in production from his rookie season in 2022 to his sophomore season in 2023.

While the offensive line isn't good, it wasn't good last year and Pierce was much better last year. On the plus side, Cook is running the ball very efficiently, so the lack of a good offensive line isn't going to help PIerce here. He's just gotten to be very bad, and unreliable as a runner.

The Texans can not rely on him. While Cook hasn't had a great year, he's had more established moments of success than Pierce has, and so bringing Cook in has more assurances it'll work than continuing to run Pierce out there.

The upgrade at the backup spot isn't the only reason to bring in Cook as the Texans push for a postseason birth, he's a heck of a receiver. C.J. Stroud needs more weapons to throw to, especially with Tank Dell out, and having someone who can produce out of the backfield in the passing game is exactly the thing that Stroud is missing in his offense.

It's unlikely Cook comes to Houston, but if he does, he'd be a fine addition to the team going forward for the remainder of the season and maybe even beyond.