Cook took a big leap in 2023 and may be in line for another in 2024. That's because the Bills retained Joe Brady, who turned Cook into a true workhorse back in the second half of last season. In his final seven regular season games, Cook averaged 19.2 touches, 104.3 yards, and just over 16 PPR Fantasy points per game. He touched the ball exactly 22 times in each of the Bills' two playoff games. The negative, if there was one, was that Cook only scored two rushing touchdowns for the second year in a row. If he ever has a normal touchdown season, Cook could produce like a first-round pick. For now, we're comfortable drafting him as a top-10 back as early as Round 2.
Fantasy Stats
rushing
receiving
fantasy
Year
yds
Rushing Yards
avg
Average Yards per Rush
td
Rushing Touchdowns
fl
Fumbles Lost
rec
Receptions
yds
Receiving Yards
td
Receiving Touchdowns
fpts
Fantasy Points
fpts/g
Fantasy Points per Game
2024
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
2023
1122
4.73
2
2
44
445
4
173
10.2
2022
507
5.70
2
1
21
180
1
73
4.6
3y Avg.
814
4.99
2
2
32
312
2
114
6.7
Fantasy News
Bills' James Cook: Won't play in preseason finale
Rotowire
Coach Sean McDermott relayed Monday that the Bills won't play their starters, a group that includes Cook, in the team's preseason finale against the Panthers on Saturday, Alec White of the team's official site reports.
The report notes that initially Buffalo's starters were trending toward seeing some snaps this weekend, but with injuries hitting the team ahead of Week 1, a cautious approach will be taken. As a result, Cook's next game action will occur Sunday, Sept. 8 against the Cardinals, and at that time the 2022 second-rounder will be in line to continue to lead a backfield that also includes Ray Davis and Ty Johnson.
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Bills' James Cook: Dominates first-team touches
Rotowire
Cook rushed the ball six times for 25 yards in Saturday's 9-3 preseason win over the Steelers.
Cook was unsurprisingly the first Buffalo running back on the field, but he was the only player to record a rushing attempt with the first-team offense on the field. That usage wasn't quite as significant because the Bills failed to approach the goal line -- the most likely spot for Cook to lose work during the regular season -- but it's at least some indication of the gap that he has built as the Bills' lead back over Ty Johnson and Ray Davis.
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Bills' James Cook: Bottled up in preseason start
Rotowire
Cook rushed four times for two yards and wasn't targeted in Saturday's 33-6 preseason loss to the Bears.
Cook played the entire first quarter alongside Josh Allen before both checked out of the game to begin the second quarter, replaced by Ray Davis and Mitch Trubisky, respectively. While Cook failed to find running room in this one, his breakout 1,122-rushing yard 2023 regular season has earned the 24-year-old running back some breathing room atop the depth chart. The Bills will travel to Pittsburgh for their next preseason game next Saturday.
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Bills' James Cook: Likely playing Saturday
Rotowire
Cook and other starters likely will play about a quarter in Saturday's preseason game against Chicago, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.
Coach Sean McDermott didn't mention Cook by name, but the running back will likely be out there if Josh Allen is. McDermott confirmed that Allen is scheduled to start, leading an offense in which the top skill-position weapons figure to be Cook, TE Dalton Kincaid and WRs Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman. A relative lack of experience in the pass-catching corps could lead to the running backs being more emphasized, but there's some chance that benefits rookie Ray Davis and/or Ty Johnson rather than giving Cook a big uptick from last year's regular-season totals of 634 snaps (54.5 percent), 237 carries and 44 receptions.
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Bills' James Cook: Back at practice
Rotowire
Cook (personal) is returning to practice Monday, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.
Cook missed one practice to attend to a personal matter. He's locked in as the lead back in Buffalo, leaving Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, Darrynton Evans and Frank Gore to compete for backup roles.
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Bills' James Cook: Finishes loss with 82 yards
Rotowire
Cook rushed 18 times for 61 yards and caught four of five targets for 21 yards in Sunday's 27-24 loss to Kansas City.
Cook had trouble finding holes (3.4 YPC) against a tough defensive front led by the Chiefs' Chris Jones, finishing with 82 total yards and no touchdowns Sunday. With the loss ending Buffalo's season, Cook will finish his breakout fantasy campaign after posting 1,567 yards from scrimmage and six total touchdowns in 17 regular-season games as the Bills' starting tailback. Barring a big-name addition to the backfield this upcoming offseason, Cook figures to lead Buffalo's rushing attack alongside quarterback Josh Allen in 2024.
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Bills' James Cook: Leading rusher off 18 carries
Rotowire
Cook carried the ball 18 times for 79 yards while adding four catches for five yards in Monday's 31-17 wild-card win over the Steelers.
Cook was unable to score a touchdown to round out his final box score, but he still generated good rushing numbers on a game-high number of carries en route to victory. The 18 totes and 22 combined touches were marks the 24-year-old had reached only twice over the course of the regular season. Quarterback Josh Allen chipped in 8-72-1 as a runner Monday, while true backup Ty Johnson did little with his eight rushes (26 yards). With the victory, the No. 2 seed Bills will move onto the AFC divisional round to host the Chiefs in a rematch of the historic divisional playoff game from the 2021 postseason. Buffalo will be riding a win streak of six games into that playoff matchup while also featuring Cook as a new weapon that the 2021 version did not possess.
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Bills' James Cook: Held in check by New England
Rotowire
Cook carried the ball 16 times for 48 yards and caught one of three targets for minus-4 yards in Sunday's 27-21 win over the Patriots.
The second-year running back was held to his lowest scrimmage yardage total since Week 9, a game in which he got only 10 touches. Cook has become a major part of the Buffalo offense since then, collecting 798 combined yards and four touchdowns on 135 touches over the last seven contests, and he figures to be busy again in Week 18 against the Dolphins as the Bills attempt to claim their fourth straight AFC East title.
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Bills' James Cook: Loses out on goal-line work
Rotowire
Cook rushed the ball 20 times for 70 yards in Saturday's 24-22 win over the Chargers. He also lost a fumble and was not targeted.
On the surface, Cook's stat line isn't all that concerning as he continued to dominate work out of the Buffalo backfield. However, he saw zero targets for only the second time this season and for the first time since Week 6. Cook also lost out on red-zone work to both Leonard Fournette and Josh Allen on two separate drives, a concerning trend for his potential to score touchdowns in the final two weeks of the regular season, though it's worth noting that Cook hasn't always been used as a clear goal-line back this season and the Bills have looked to several different players from in close all season, including backup Latavius Murray. Cook will still have a safe floor as Buffalo's lead back, but it will be difficult for him to replicate his stellar recent performances with the usage that he saw in Saturday's win. His fumbling issues also merit watching, as he had one key turnover Saturday and almost lost another one earlier in the contest.
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Bills' James Cook: Good to go Saturday
Rotowire
Cook (illness) doesn't carry an injury designation for Saturday night's game against the Chargers.
After missing Wednesday's session due to an illness, Cook practiced without restrictions Thursday, which sets the stage for the 2022 second-rounder to continue to lead the Bills backfield this weekend against the 5-9 Chargers. In this past Sunday's 31-10 win over the Cowboys, Cook turned in the most productive fantasy effort of his NFL career, carrying 25 times for 179 yards and a touchdown while catching two of his three targets for 42 yards and another score.
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Bills' James Cook: Racks up 221 yards, two TDs
Rotowire
Cook rushed 25 times for 179 yards and a touchdown while catching two of three targets for 42 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-10 win over the Cowboys.
Cook reached triple digits in scrimmage yards for the fifth consecutive game, and he hit that mark before halftime with 104 rushing yards and 42 receiving yards in the first half. That production included an 18-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Cook had an opportunity to add another receiving touchdown in the third quarter but dropped a pass just outside the end zone. That was a rare mistake in an otherwise outstanding performance from the second-year running back, who blew past his previous career high of 123 rushing yards from Week 2 against the Raiders. Cook put an exclamation point on his career-best performance with a 24-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. Buffalo has found success with a more run-heavy approach in recent weeks, so Cook is poised to maintain a prominent role in Week 16 against the reeling Chargers.
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Bills' James Cook: Comes up big in Week 14 win
Rotowire
Cook carries the ball 10 times for 58 yards and caught all five of his targets for 83 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 20-17 win over Kansas City.
The second-year running back wound up as the Bills' leading receiver on the day, and Cook opened the scoring by connecting with Josh Allen on a 25-yard TD strike late in the first quarter. Cook has reached 100 scrimmage yards in four straight games, with Sunday's 141 being his best total since he erupted for 159 yards back in Week 2. He could have a hard time extending his streak to five games in Week 15 against a tough and aggressive Cowboys defense.
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Bills' James Cook: RBs to Start
Rotowire
In two games since Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator for Ken Dorsey, Cook has scored at least 16 PPR points in each outing against the Jets and Eagles. The best part is his role in the passing game with nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets, and hopefully that becomes a staple of this offense to close the season. Cook also has 33 carries over that span, and he should remain heavily involved in Week 14 at Kansas City in a potential shootout. The Chiefs have allowed a running back to score at least 13.5 PPR points in five of their past six games, and Cook will hopefully stay hot coming off Buffalo's bye.
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Bills' James Cook: Eclipses century mark in loss
Rotowire
Cook rushed 12 times for 109 yards and brought in both of his targets for 11 yards in the Bills' 24-22 loss to the Broncos on Monday night. He also committed two fumbles, losing one and recovering the other.
Cook was able to get over the 100-yard mark for only the second time this season, with the second-year back accomplishing the feat courtesy of a clutch 42-yard yard run on the Bills' final possession that saw him recover his own fumble during the play and advance the ball another 29 yards. Cook was also part of a bumbled exchange with quarterback Josh Allen, one that won't go on his ledger but was another costly mistake for the Bills. However, Cook's statistical surge was an especially welcome sight after he mustered only 39 total yards on 10 touches in Week 9 against the Bengals. While he's still sitting on just two total touchdowns this season, Cook will head into a Week 11 home divisional clash with the Jets boasting plenty of momentum thanks to Monday's performance, assuming he can get past the ball security issues and the Buffalo coaching staff doesn't penalize him for that part of his performance.
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Bills' James Cook: Takes on main role in Week 8 win
Rotowire
Cook carried 14 times for 67 yards and caught his only target for six yards in Thursday's 24-18 win over Tampa Bay.
Cook saw 14 carries to Latavius Murray's five, but quarterback Josh Allen always has the ability to hone in on the run game, as the latter posted a 7-41-1 line on the ground. In fact, Allen has more rushing touchdowns (5) than every other Bills player combined this season. As for Cook, his 4.8 yards per carry is great and he's got a decent role in the passing game with 18 catches on the season, plus he's the main ball carrier, but touchdowns will be tricky to come by even with Damien Harris (neck) out of action because there are so many other talents in the offense. Cook's high in carries for the season is 17, back in Week 2.
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Bills' James Cook: Catches TD in Week 7 loss
Rotowire
Cook rushed 13 times for 56 yards while catching all three of his targets for 46 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 29-25 loss to the Patriots.
Cook caught an eight-yard touchdown in the third quarter, marking his second scrimmage touchdown of the season. He also topped 100 scrimmage yards for the third time this season while continuing to lead a Buffalo backfield that will be without Damien Harris (neck/concussion) for at least three additional games, including Thursday's upcoming home game against the Buccaneers. Latavius Murray turned six touches into 28 scrimmage yards while spelling Cook.
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Bills' James Cook: RBs to Start
Rotowire
Cook just had his worst game of the season in Week 5 against Jacksonville in London with five carries for minus-4 yards and three catches for 25 yards on four targets. He only scored 5.1 PPR points, after scoring at least 13.2 PPR points in each of his three previous games. He should return to that level of production in Week 6 against the Giants, who are No. 6 in most Fantasy points allowed to running backs. A running back has scored at least 13.9 PPR points against the Giants in every game this season (Tony Pollard, James Conner, Christian McCaffrey, Kenneth Walker III, De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert), and I expect Cook to finish as a quality No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues against this defense.
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Bills' James Cook: Stuffed by Jags
Rotowire
Cook lost four yards on five carries and caught three of four targets for 25 yards in Sunday's 25-20 loss to the Jaguars.
The Bills' entire offense was completely flat for nearly the whole first half, and quarterback Josh Allen took matters into his own hands after halftime, so Cook didn't get much of a chance to improve his numbers. It's the second-year back's worst performance of the season, but he should be able to rebound in Week 6 against a vulnerable Giants run defense.
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Bills' James Cook: RBs to Start
Rotowire
Cook scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 4 against Miami, which saved his production since he was held to 12 carries for 29 yards and one catch for 48 yards on one target. Prior to that, Cook had at least 112 total yards in each of his previous two games against Las Vegas and Washington, and I expect him to rebound in that area against Jacksonville in Week 5. The Jaguars have allowed Dameon Pierce and Bijan Robinson to each score at least 14.9 PPR points in the past two games, and Cook should be considered a borderline No. 1 running back in PPR in this game in London.
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Bills' James Cook: Effective running but still no TDs
Rotowire
Cook rushed 15 times for 98 yards and caught two of three targets for 14 yards in Sunday's 37-3 win over Washington.
Cook easily led the Bills in both carries and rushing yards, but he watched Latavius Murray score on the ground from in close for the second consecutive game. Along with Murray's two touchdowns, Buffalo has a rushing touchdown apiece from Damien Harris and quarterback Josh Allen through three weeks, while Cook has yet to find the end zone in 2023. The elusive second-year running back is averaging 89 rushing yards through three games, and Cook should continue to handle the majority of backfield touches in Week 4 against the Dolphins.
