Latavius Murray's Fantasy Outlook vs. Jets After Injured Dalvin Cook Ruled out

Latavius Murray will once again take over as the Minnesota Vikings' starting running back after Dalvin Cook was ruled out for Week 7 against the New York Jets with a hamstring injury, according to ESPN.com's Courtney Cronin.

Cook battled a hamstring problem last week, as well, which took him out of action against the Arizona Cardinals. While serving as Cook's backup and injury replacement, Murray has performed well. Through six games, he has 261 yards and one touchdown on 54 carries. He also caught 10 passes for 63 yards.

Murray's monster showing in Week 6 inflates his overall production on the ground. He ran for 155 yards and a touchdown in Minnesota's 27-17 win over Arizona. 

Fantasy football owners know what to expect from Murray by now.

When he was his team's primary ball-carrier between 2015 and 2017, he averaged 4.0 yards per carry and 58.6 yards per game. He also caught 89 passes for 599 yards during that span. Whatever hope Murray generated from his 1,066-yard rushing season in 2015 has long evaporated.

If Cook's injury rules him out beyond Week 7, then Murray is worth rolling the dice on since this year's running back pool has been rather inconsistent beyond the ironclad RB1 tier.

Just be careful not to expect too much from the 28-year-old.

The Vikings are 26th in rushing attempts (128). The running game isn't an afterthought for Minnesota, but the team invested a lot in signing Kirk Cousins and extending Stefon Diggs' contract. The Vikings' aerial attack is the offense's primary focus, and that's even more true with Cook out.

Until he proves otherwise, Murray is a flex at most in standard leagues. And that's solely dependent on Cook's availability. Once Cook is healthy, Murray belongs back on the waiver wire.

Outside of Murray, the running back position is barren ground from a fantasy perspective in Minnesota. Neither Mike Boone nor Roc Thomas has done much this year. They're not going to get enough consistent touches in the backfield to make any fantasy impact.