Player: James Cook
Team: Buffalo Bills
Pick: 63rd Overall (Round 2 // Pick 31)
On the latest episode of the Razzball Fantasy Football Podcast Bobby LaMarco is joined by Matthew Buck from Fantasy Focused. Matt jumps on the show to talk about the Bills’ new RB James Cook and his fit in Buffalo. To hear our full analysis, check out the YouTube video included with this article. And see where Cook ranks on our new consensus rookie rankings for 2022 fantasy football dynasty leagues and 2022 fantasy football ADP pages!
In the 2nd round of the 2022 NFL draft, James Cook was taken by the Buffalo Bills after four years at Georgia. During Cook’s time with the Bulldogs, he wasn’t utilized much as a runner only seeing 230 carries playing alongside Zamir White. However, even though he saw limited touches, Cook flashed as a receiver and showed promise on the ground. During his college career, he averaged a solid 6.5 yards per attempt and 10.9 yards per reception. This has led many people to rank Cook as either the 1st or 2nd best receiving back in this year’s class.
Now officially in Buffalo, the question is, will Cook eat into Devin Singletary’s early-down role or will he be regulated to passing down work? According to The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia, the Bills’ coaching staff remains “firmly behind” Singletary, and Cook will operate as the Bills’ third-down back. If Cook is going to be regulated to a 3rd down role, it might not be highly lucrative for fantasy. Over the past three seasons, no RB has been inside the top five on 3rd/4th down targets on the team. Josh Allen has featured his WRs/TEs, but his biggest weapon has been his legs leading all QBs in 3rd/4th down rushing attempts in 2021. This combination of other receiving threats and Allen’s mobility has limited the Bills’ RBs to a season-high of just 10 targets on those downs from 2019-2021.
Currently, Cook’s redraft ADP sits at RB37 and 105th overall. Even though he will probably start off the year behind Singletary it might not be a bad idea to draft both players. The Bills boast a top 5 QB, a top 5 offense, and a top 17 line according to PFF that added Pro Bowl Guard Roger Saffold. Therefore, bundling both Singletary in the 7th and Cook in the 9th might be a solid low-cost strategy to see how things pan out.
On the dynasty rookie rankings over on Razzball.com, Cook sits as the 12th overall pick. This draft cost seems reasonable as Singletary’s contract is up after this season and Zach Moss has fallen out of favor in Buffalo. This could put Cook into a featured role as soon as 2023. Watch the video above or listen to the audio only below for our full analysis!
Sources: Razzball, Sharp Football Stats, Player Profiler, RotoHeat, Fantasy Pros, Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus, Spotrac.com, Overthecap.com, Ourlads, Bestball 10s, Underdog Fantasy, and NFC
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