The running back position is taking on early importance in fantasy football as De’Von Achane and James Cook light up Thursday Night Football.
James Cook and De’Von Achane rewarded fantasy gamers greatly on Thursday Night Football. James Cook particularly shined in half and full PPR leagues whereas De’Von Achane provided a ceiling week in PPR leagues.
Achane and Cook traded fantasy production while other elements of a Bills-Dolphins shootout were largely absent. Achane had 96 rushing yards on 22 attempts adding 7 receptions for a very nice 69 yards. He also found the endzone on a 5-yard reception.
The Bills offense ran through James Cook who had 3 total touchdowns with 2 on the ground and 1 in the receiving game. Cook took his lone catch for 17 yards to the house and his other 2 touchdowns came on the ground where he totalled 78 yards rushing.
In week 3, James Cook will look to maintain his healthy production on Monday Night Football at home versus the Jacksonville Jaguars while De’Von Achane will travel up to Seattle to square off on a Sunday afternoon game against the Seahawks.
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook rushed the football ...
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (toe) was limited in ...
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott said that he thinks ...
The Bills rookie wide receiver has risen up significantly on UnderDog from the Pre-NFL draft process to now.
Bills rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman has risen up draft boards significantly since the Pre-NFL Draft to today. Of note, Keon Coleman has moved up 60.9 spots from round 12 on UnderDog to round 7.
There is largely a bearish sentiment on Keon Coleman due to his inability to create separation ala Stefon Diggs. Psychologically, there is a difficulty reconciling Keon Coleman not being Stefon Diggs while having the issue of not offering the agility in route running his predecessor provided.
Josh Allen’s career took off once he had Stefon Diggs in town. The concern isn’t whether or not Josh Allen can thrive, rather if Keon Coleman can garner enough attention in the Bills offense to draw significant enough target share to warrant being selected in round 7. Tight end Dalton Kincaid goes in round 5 and is being hyped as the focal point in the Bills offense in the same vein as Travis Kelce is used on the Chiefs.
With the concern of Dalton Kincaid being the alpha target hog in the Bills offense, Coleman also has to deal with Curtis Samuel having an edge in experience having worked with offensive coordinator Joe Brady prior. Add in the Bills expected proclivity to run the ball more with James Cook and Josh Allen calling his own number, keeping a level headed approach when selecting Keon Coleman in drafts will prove wise. Incorporate a low 4-8% requisite exposure or fade all together, but don’t get caught with heavy bags on the Bills rookie wideout.
New Bills’ Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady has noticed that running back James Cook has put in the work this offseason.
When discussing James Cook, OC Joe Brady stated “He’s physically in a better shape than he was, you can look at him and I can tell he put in a lot of work this offseason. He looks different and in a good way.” Looks like Brady and fantasy managers will be intrigued to see how Cook performs this season.
Last season, Cook took a major step forward in his development when he was the starter for the Bills. He rushed 237 times for 1,122 with two touchdowns. The second-year running back also caught 44 receptions for 445 yards and another four touchdowns. Cook illustrated that he could handle a large workload and was a dual threat for dynasty managers last season.
Cook has a current ADP of 39 as the 14th running back off the board. You should look to nab the running back in the early fourth round if you want to secure his services this season. Cook will get the majority of touches this Fall, but keep an eye on rookie running back Ray Davis in camp, because he may take away some carries from Cook, and he would skyrocket in value should Cook get injured.
Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen believes that RB James Cook is “going to take a large portion of the carries and in the pass game, he’s going to be kind of a dual threat guy for us”.
The Buffalo Bills enter 2023 with 265 vacated opportunities in their backfield following Nyheim Hines season-ending injury and the departures of Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, and Duke Johnson. Josh Allen has given his stamp of approval for James Cook to take the bulk of the reps. The 2nd-Round sophomore back out of Georgia has dominated as a receiver and a runner throughout the offseason but has struggled mightily in pass protection.
Buffalo signed former Patriots back Damien Harris to a 1-year deal just above the veteran minimum and signed Latavius Murray to the vet min to compete for the grinder-back touches between the tackles and in short-yardage situations. Expect to see plenty of James Cook between-the-20s and when Josh Allen decides to check it down.
What prevents Cook from becoming anything more than an RB2 is his 199lb frame. The 216lb Damien Harris and the 223lb Latavius Murray will be the ones getting the work inside the 5-yard line.
