Jared Cook Fantasy Football Outlook & Value 2019

It’s never too early to look ahead to the fantasy football season. Don’t miss out full fantasy football rankings along with our defense fantasy football rankings. Also, if you are interested in fantasy football stats we have you covered. Always stay prepared with our up-to-date resources.

Position Ranking– TE5, ADP– 7.03, Auction Value ($200)– $11, Team– NO, Bye– 9

Jared Cook could prove to be an underrated addition to the Saints offensive attack this season. pic.twitter.com/itgVNQkuDX

— PFF (@PFF) July 1, 2019

After a successful 2018 campaign with the Oakland Raiders, Jared Cook will join a New Orleans Saints team that saw very little production from the tight end position. “Jared Cook could prove to be an underrated addition to the Saints offensive attack this season. -PFF” If thats’ the case, Cook will make for a great addition to the Saints and an even greater contributor to your fantasy team.

The New Orleans Saints were one of the most prolific offenses in 2018 led by Hall of Fame bound QB Drew Brees. The offense was the 3rd best in the league and ranked 12th in passing yards and 7th in passing TDs. Jared Cook will come over from the Oakland Raiders where he enjoyed a breakout year in 2018. He’ll join an 3 wide receiver set offense that will also feature Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, and Ted Ginn.

Upside

Coming off a career year where he caught for 896 receiving yards and 6 TDs, Jared Cook will now take his talents to New Orleans. He’ll now become one of Drew Brees’ new targets where double teams or extra help on coverage likely won’t come his way. With the Raiders, he was dominant and clearly the best offensive weapon for quarterback Derek Carr. With the Saints, defenses are likely focused on Thomas and Kamara which would allow Cook more open looks downfield. If he gets a lot of single coverage, especially in the end zone, Cook could haul in 900 receiving yards and 8 TDs.

Floor

With so many explosive options on the offense, will Cook receive the same number of targets as he did in Oakland? That’ll certainty be the storyline in his first year as a Saint. In 2018, Cook got 101 total targets whereas the top Saints tight end, Benjamin Watson, only got 46. Clearly Cook is the better player but he may be unlikely to receive the same volume of targets which could hurt his value. He’ll be the same athletic, skilled player, but have limited ability to display his talent. His floor is likely around 650 receiving yards and 5 TDs.

What to Expect

Cook is currently ranked as the 5th tight end off the board and holds an auction value of $11. He’s currently projected to have 7th round draft value. Even with such a high ranking, many tight ends are projected to go ahead of Cook. As it currently stands, he might be the 8th tight end selected though he has potential to be better than that. Cook is currently slated as strong TE2 with low end TE1 potential. Worst case scenario is a low end TE2 which would still make him a must start across all leagues.

The tier 2 tight end range is bit murky with everyone having a different valuation on each player. Cook is the prototype tier 2 TE that has some type of question mark. Each tight end in the top tier has a fairly solid track record but tight ends such as Cook have concerns. For Cook, it’s whether he’ll get the same volume share and attention from Brees as he did from Carr. The talent is there, it’s whether he’ll get an opportunity to show it off.

The 7th round valuation seems to be a steal based on what he did last season. However, you can clearly justify drafting players like Engram or Ebron ahead of him based on what they’ve done last season and their lengthy track record of success. The auction valuation of $11 is right in line with other tier 2 tight ends and is more fair than a steal. Nevertheless, I’d love to add a potential tier 1 TE with my 7th round pick at such a shallow position.

Cook will bring yet another talented element to New Orleans’ loaded offense. He should fit right in and become one of Brees’ new favorite weapons. He’ll surely get more touches than Watson did at the tight end position last year and might fit in as a newer version of Jimmy Graham’s days as a Saint. We’ll see how well he actually fits into their offense come week 1 at home against the Houston Texans. Expect Cook to produce 800 receiving yards and 7 TDs in 2019.