The Aaron Rodgers Effect strikes again, luring Dalvin Cook's Pro Bowl talent to the Jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Dalvin Cook chose not to entertain hypotheticals.

Would the four-time Pro Bowl running back have signed with the New York Jets this week if Aaron Rodgers wasn’t their quarterback?

“I don’t know,” Cook said a day after signing his contract and hours removed from a conditioning session with the Jets’ rehabilitation group. “I can’t answer that one.”

In other comments, he did.

“He don’t got to recruit,” Cook said of Rodgers. “His game recruits itself. Aaron is Aaron. If you don’t want to be a part of something like that, I don’t know what you want in football.”

The Aaron Rodgers Effect strikes again.

Most of the Jets’ offseason moves have considered Rodgers’ relationships. Wide receiver Randall Cobb, wide receiver Allen Lazard and offensive tackle Billy Turner all joined New York in conjunction with their former Green Bay Packers teammate’s move. Defensive end Carl Lawson admitted he took a pay cut in part because of the playoff potential Rodgers brought.

Cook and Rodgers’ prior relationship consisted mostly of facing each other’s teams twice a year in the AFC North when Cook played for the Vikings. They then spoke when Cook visited the Jets. Rodgers left the conversation understanding finances would impact Cook, but also: “If the money was close,” Rodgers said, “he was telling me that he was going to be here.”

Now, Cook joins an offense that (perhaps not unbiased) defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich says would be a “nightmare” and “pain in the (expletive)” to scheme against.

“Typically, when you study an offense, they have some strength, whether it be the passing game, the running game,” Ulbrich said. “Not very often do teams in the NFL have both, and I really believe offensively, we’re developing that.”

Cook’s role in the offense remains to be seen. He was extremely productive in Minneapolis, surpassing 1,100 yards rushing each of the last four seasons while averaging between 4.7 yards per carry across those years. Cook has scored double-digit touchdowns three of the last four seasons (he rushed for eight and caught two last year). But he’s also recovering from February surgery to repair a lingering shoulder injury.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Cook and the team are evaluating each other, while Cook said the Jets “reached out to my doctor and everything’s right on schedule.” After returning home this weekend for a baby due date, he’s expected to rejoin the Jets next week and ramp up his practice participation.

That will put him near, if slightly behind, the timeline of Jets 2022 second-round selection Breece Hall. Hall averaged 97.2 scrimmage yards per game last season, scoring five touchdowns and rushing for an explosive 5.8 yards per carry. Then he tore his ACL during the Jets’ Week 7 game at the Denver Broncos. Hall began working back into team drills on Thursday, but the Jets are still slow-playing his recovery.

Third-year back Michael Carter and second-year Zonovan Knight round out the room, each getting carries and finding the end zone last season.

The Jets may have bandwidth to prominently feature Hall and Cook if each are healthy. Rodgers noted how much less common one-man run games are than when he entered the NFL, one-two punches increasingly the trend. While Hall is the Jets’ long-term future at their position if he recovers sufficiently, the Jets wouldn’t have offered Cook a contract worth up to $8.6 million without expectations he contributes meaningfully. The Jets did protect the $7 million in Cook’s guarantees with provisions that cover missed time related to injury and suspension, according to a source familiar with the contract.

Either way, the Jets have high hopes for a passing game that’s fusing Rodgers’ MVP-caliber arm talent with weapons including the reigning offensive rookie of the year, Garrett Wilson. Offensive line instability currently jeopardizes the team’s chance to reach those heights, but their skill group is deep.

Cook said he’s familiar with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s system, and he believes it suits his skill set well.

Could he be the missing piece to the Jets’ self-described Super Bowl-or-bust year?

“I wouldn’t say I can be the missing piece but I know I can come help a team win,” Cook said.” I know what I can do on the football field, I know what I can bring to a team. I’m just here to be Dalvin Cook and be explosive and be a great teammate.”

A great teammate of Rodgers, no less.

“Being on the other side of that for the past six years, I couldn’t be on the other side no more,” Cook said. “I got the chance to go join him and help him win.

“That was a big thing to come over here.”