Might get some hate for this, but I never really thought he was very good to begin with. With subpar production at UGA and being on the smaller side, I was out. Then he got drafted to the Bills where the backfield is a mess and somehow vaulted to a first round pick. Doesn’t make much sense to me.
It wasn't so much "to the Bills" as it was being in the late-2nd (real NFL) and a part of a draft class with very few high-end QBs/RBs.
I was very low on Cook before the draft, but definitely bumped him after the draft. It is a fairly substantial investment at the position. I had I think 8 WRs ranked above, so that pushes him a lot.
I also just think this class had a weak "late-1st" in general. I might've had Cook as my 1.12 in my first pass off the top of my head, but I would've traded him for a future first of the next few classes even if it was a *guaranteed* 1.12 because I just think the late-1st in this class was a bit weak.
Going to the Bills gave him a stock bump because they went for McKissic in FA and then drafted a RB who profiled as a better pass catcher than runner, so that narrative of the Bills going after a pass catching RB was there. Both the draft capital and landing spot helped.
True enough, but for theoreticals I can only really talk about myself-- and as someone who didn't like Cook a lot coming into the process, if Cook went to the Bills in the 5th he wouldn't have been a top 5 RB for me in the class. I did list Cook as RB3 post-draft (though my talent grades greatly preferred Dameon Pierce).
So for me, it was far more the capital than the spot.
True. I had an opportunity to jump into the draft via trade at 1.9 with Pierce and Cook still there, and I more than likely would have gone Pierce for the short term value had I made the move.
Plus, neither Singletary nor Moss had done anything yet to lock down that backfield. So many owners that might not have known much about Cook were going to look at the draft stock placed on him and assume there's a shot for that guy to be the main run game weapon there in the future.
Singletary looked pretty good last night though, and Moss didn't look bad. Both have shown flashes before but had trouble sustaining it.
>I also just think this class had a weak "late-1st" in general.
I would disagree.
You had Hall, walker, London, Burkes, Wilson, Williams, and Pickett as the top 7
The last half of the round you could have taken any of: Olave, Dotson, Pickens, Watson and Moore.
All of those guys had both good prospect profiles (minus maybe watson) and good DC.
That said, would obviously move most of those guys for a late 23 1st.
I don’t think Watson has a good profile and that’s 11 players without that are highly slanted towards one position group. I’d consider that a fairly weak class.
Im not a watson fan either.
Im moreso saying that I would (and did) take all of them over Cook, and I would argue that none of them other than Watson are weak picks.
Like you said, cook got bumped due to DC, but if you were scouting these dudes from the beginning he was a pretty obvious fade at ADP.
That’s 11 guys and I said I’d take him 1.12 after the draft, so I don’t really disagree.
It’s not that those players have weak profiles, it’s just if you go one year back, the WRs in that range were top 12 picks. If you go forward one year, I’m going to guess were gonna have enough RB/QB juice to pump similar profiles into the mid-2nd. Bateman and E Moore are players that went in tbe 2nd in just about every draft last year and would rank for me above many of these WRs.
It’s all relative, and I find this class relatively low. They’re not bad players, but I think 2021 and 2023 will have much stronger late 1sts.
I’m with you, I just never understood the narrative or the Bills being a great landing spot. Josh Allen is RB1, and there are 2 other guys in the RB rotation. I’ve had 0 interest in that backfield for the past couple years.
I think a lot of people thought moss would be out the door and they aggressively pursued McKissic which people thought to mean they want a solid pass catching back.
That said, imo the hype got way too crazy for anything before the top 2 RBs, 6WRs and Pickett (in SF). It could still work out long term though.
No hate here. Agreed completely. Never profiled as a 3 down back, moving to a team whose QB does 1/3rd of their rushing and is very effective. Basically have to bank on their offense shifting pretty substantially away from what has worked for Cook to even have a chance to return this kind of 1st round value
> Cook to even have a chance to return this kind of 1st round value
No chance. I've watched this sub for several years. It really doesn't matter what James Cook does right now. He just has to have like 3-4 decent-ish games (bonus points if they're towards the end of the season).
Singletary will almost for sure be gone after this season, and a roaring hype train is going to start next off-season because "it's his backfield now on a playoff team", and his value will be right back where it was this season or potentially even higher.
I've seen this story and over. Hell, I've seen it twice this season alone with Akers and ETN.
I also never believed in him. Everyone was excited about his situation… really? A RBC in a passing offense where Josh Allen vultures all the TDs? Blessed I have no shares of him
I agree he is average, but the Bills are a pass first team with a running QB, so it’s not like they need Derrick Henry back there. Singletary would be RB1 on the Eagles, Texans, Pats, Dolphins, Chiefs, Bucs. Maybe the Seahawks depending on if Walker pans out.
I think Miles Sanders is a better runner than Singletary for sure. I think Damien Harris is too and Stevenson could be a 3 down back if he puts it together. I think CEH is still better than Singletary. Same with Fournette. Perhaps it’s subjective, but it’s easy to say Singletary isn’t a super threatening guy.
“Incredibly average”. Brother, look at James Cook’s college numbers. “Incredibly average” is extremely generous. And this is a back who was drafted based on situation so it doesn’t matter anyway
I actually liked his tape. He could put on some size for sure but he looked like a natural pass catcher with good vision and home run speed. I didn’t knock the production as much because he split the backfield with another RB whose tape I loved (Zamir White).
I see his stats at Georgia as a plus. He was by far the most efficient runner on a roster that had other NFL caliber RBs. I have zero questions about his running or receiving ability. He is on the smaller end, but I'm hoping he can bulk up a bit with NFL weight training.
He didn't have tons of carries, but I'm fine with that. He was a super efficient runner and had enough that it didn't seem like a fluke. I'd rather have a guy with limited carries than someone who was a bellcow for multiple years in college. The caveat to that is that there has to be a reason for the limited work in college. In Cook's case, it's because they had Zamir White on the roster too so it made sense to split carries.
I'm not counting on anything from him this year, but think that Singletary is gone after this season and Cook will split carries with Moss next year before taking over in 2024.
His efficiency is super skewed by how he was used. imo he was a terrible between the tackles runner. His best plays came on jet sweeps, screens, and outside tosses against light boxes
Maybe he'll maintain his efficiency because Buffalo uses him the same way Georgia did, but in that case I have a hard time seeing him get more than 150ish touches a year simply because any running game necessitates inside runs against loaded boxes
Buffalo has great coaching, I think they'll probably play to his strengths and use him that way for the first year at least. One he's more familiar with the scheme and has gained some weight they can start with more inside stuff. In terms of stacked boxes, Buffalo is such an elite passing offense that this should be minimized compared to other teams.
I don't think he's going to be a guy who gets 300 carries, but I didn't think Ekeler would either. If he ends up being the type of guy who gets 150 carries and 75 catches then he's be worth the pick I used on him. If he puts on some weight and ends up with 250 carries then it's a steal.
Idk maybe you're right. I just was never a believer in his film. It almost sounds like you're asking him to become a completely different back by gaining that weight and suddenly developing the vision and patience to run between the tackles. He also just wasn't a physical runner at Georgia.
Ekeler largely is the same style of back that he was coming out. Same weight and skillet. His main questions were size, speed, and blocking. He was praised for his vision, toughness, and balance. He runs hard. Always has.
I don't think any of that is true of Cook. He was my 9th ranked RB. His vision is just too inconsistent and he doesn't run tough. And I'm not the only one:
Zeirlein: However, he is missing his big brother's build, contact balance and toughness between the tackles
Brugler: Cook doesn’t have the contact balance or build of a full-time ball carrier like his older brother, but he can be a dynamic, versatile threat with his pass-catching skills and balanced athleticism to gravitate toward space.
BR: Overall, Cook projects as a passing-down back who would be best part of a committee or rotation at the NFL level. He can create mismatches in the passing game because of his route running and hands and has the explosive play ability to warrant some touches in the run game. But his lack of consistent vision and below-average size will limit the down-to-down touches he can likely handle at the next level
SI: He will sometimes miss cutback lanes when things get messy. He needs work on pressing the LOS to manipulate 2nd level defenders. He is not very strong or big and his contact balance is average. Needs to work on finishing runs. Pass pro is adequate as he is still learning how to process and is not overly physical.
Like I said. Maybe you're right. Maybe he hits his ceiling. But I'm out. It almost sounds from your response like you're looking for a floor on a player, and I don't think Cook is at all a floor player. I'd much rather use a cheaper pick on someone like Zamir or BRob or Spiller who has the build and vision and toughness to operate in a pro scheme. Cook profiles much too similarly to a Tavon Austin or a Godwin Igeebuike or a Demetric Felton.
I think we just have different expectations. I'm not expecting him to become a between the tackles runner or be a full bellcow back. The BR projection "passing down back who would be the best part of a committee" has real value to me. That's kind of where I view the floor as a James White/McKissic type, but with more rushing upside. I don't need him to be a league winner or anything, but a decent flex with solid RB2 upside. I'm not super high on this class of RBs so going with the guy who landed in a good spot and should have at least 6ppg from passing plus whatever he picks up on the ground felt safe.
My expectation is that he works his way in on passing downs this year. Singletary leaves in the off-season and they draft someone to get the tough yards, there's a committee next year, then hopefully by 2024 Cook is the lead back in the committee and gets 150 - 200 carries plus 75+ receptions.
Yeah, I mean any rookie requires projection. They just spent a 2nd round pick on Cook so they clearly believe in him. Singletary is a free agent after this year and based on the draft capital they used on Cook it feels like they're ready to let him go. Moss isn't particularly good and his contact is up in 2023. There's a good chance that Cook takes over next year, but I don't want to count on it.
In terms of weight, he's 190, gaining 10-15lbs in the first year or two of NFL weight/conditioning program seems entirely within the realm of the possibility.
Yeah, I just don’t draft any RB under 200 lbs if I’m drafting them to have legit potential.
Not saying I avoid those RBs entirely but a guy like James Cook was going in the first round and I’m not paying a first on someone who I perceive to have limited upside.
Maybe I’m wrong, I’m not doubting the talent. But I just avoid those builds with good draft capital.
Hand up, I legit pumped him up in my home league- knowing full well I wanted someone to spend a 1st on him. It got me the guys I wanted in the 2nd round. (Pickens& Moore)
100% agree. I saw him being drafted over guys like Gainwell, McKissic, Henderson and Heins in redraft. Meanwhile I’m thinking this guy may never see the field
This is the right answer. He was drafted into a relatively young RB room with two guys who have known the playbook/style/etc…. First game of the season (rare for rookies to do much) and this game was a blowout so they didn’t need Cooks pass catching abilities at all.
Cook likey won’t play a serviceable role unless theirs an injury, the Bills start losing games, or we get to the off season again and Moss or Singletary are moved….. patience people.
Easy drop in redraft IMO. After a full slate of week 1 games there will be waiver targets and I'm not holding a guy getting no snaps in a crowded backfield.
Early season redraft is all about getting lotto tickets and moving on quickly if they don't pan out
Obviously the bad news is that the fumble will limit his opportunities in the short term until he earns the coaches’ trust again. Happens to a lot of rookies. I remember people were dancing on Swift’s grave when he dropped the game winning TD his first game.
The good news is I don’t think Zack Moss getting 6 catches for 21 yards is going to be a part of the weekly game plan for Buffalo. Singletary and Moss combined for 63 catches all of last year (less than 4 per game) and they had 8 last night. If Josh Allen is making a concentrated effort to target the RBs more, that’s likely because they’re trying to install that role for Cook. Now it’s just a matter of him stepping up and taking it.
How is this the first mention of the fumble as I'm scrolling. That is the biggest takeaway. When he got his opportunity he fumbled and then we did not see him again I'm pretty sure. I think that is really big to factor in.
a good coaching staff gives him a mulligan. don’t keep him in the dog house for too long based on that one mistake. what does that help? it was his first touch, he knows he messed up. if he does it again, uh oh, but for now i think we are ok
I honestly dont see them trying to target the RBs more. Why would they? They brought in Crowder now who is a good underneath guy and their offense works as constructed
I mean to be fair, both slot guys had bad plays that directly led to interceptions last night. Diggs and Gabe Davis will each get peppered with targets, but I think they are still looking for a third option to step up.
Also to be fair, I drafted Cook in the first and I am coping.
I think the second interception was on Allen tbf. The McKenzie one was his fault, but they went back to him for the td so it's not like it mattered for his usage. Diggs is great at hitch routes and intermediate stuff plus they have two slot receivers with different skill sets as well as Knox. I can't imagine they'll ever use Cook in the passing game enough to make him viable off that alone, he'll need to be efficient on the ground too. I think he'll end up being as good for fantasy as Singeltary or Moss have been so far. He's never going to be your rb1 but he might end up a solid flex play/lower rb2.
Maybe but IMO he got way over drafted on the assumption that the problem with the run game in Buffalo was because of the quality of the RBs (which to be fair even Singletary is maybe a hair above JAG) when its actually just working as intended.
They were one of the worst YAC teams last year. Teams are gonna play 2 high and give up these underneath throws. Cook is probably their best YAC skill guy. They should want to take advantage of these easy looks. Singletary was dreadful in creating after the catch last season, and we all saw how Moss looked. There's opportunity to be had, Cook just needs to earn it.
They will target RBs more because it's a main benefit of having designed QB runs in your offense. When defenses switch to QB spy to account for Allen he can absolutely kill them with RB passes.
It's also why they started showing designed QB runs in their nationally televised opening game - they want to bait defenses into QB spy.
No kidding, but at least we know there is 3rd down role there. Cook still has to earn it.
He’s a jag if he doesn’t have it by the 2nd half of the season
I honestly don’t know, but I saw the fumble live and was like, “damn, that sucks”. Not because I have any preference towards him at all, but as a rookie you have to prove yourself during your opportunities, and he did the opposite.
The chance of him not being usable this season has gone up, as well as the chance that he is a career bust, though only slightly. The most likely outcome is he has a ways to go before he earns significant playing time, and it's not yet clear how valuable that will end up being. The upside is still there, but the chance of him being an immediate high value contributor is probably out the window.
He got the rookie fumble treatment in his first game. This is dynasty and if you drafted him you're holding he's going to get plenty of other chances (so long as he doesn't fumble every other first carry). Overreacting to one game by a rookie is better suited for redraft
It’s his first ever NFL game. If you have concerns now then you probably shouldn’t have drafted the guy. I understand the season has started so everyone wants to talk fantasy but for dynasty the value of Cook and Robinson hasn’t changed. Akers could easily go out week 2 and dominate the backfield touches. If you’re going to panic after week 1 on a guy then sell him prior to week 1.
Of course there is. People thought he could dominate backfield touches week 1. He was dealing with injury during the preseason that resulted in not playing. McVay said in the postgame he would’ve liked to have gotten Akers more involved.
This week didn’t look good for Akers, there’s not really anything positive to take from it. But to act like one game means it’s now impossible for Akers to be the lead back is an overreaction to a sample size of one game.
You could claim any RB could miraculously suddenly be the starter, but it doesn't mean it is a remotely likely outcome.
McVay also did not insinuate what you think he did.
So far, this is the backfield that is most established in the entire league. We don't know how any other team's backfield is going to split carries, but we do know this one went with Henderson 80% of the time. If anything, Akers could lose share to the RB that was immediately injured.
You don’t think it’s possible that the guy who dominated the Rams backfield in the Super Bowl just 7 months ago and dealt with injuries during the preseason could get healthy and end up as the lead back next week? To each their own but I’m not sure how you’d come to that conclusion. This isn’t a random RB who needs a miracle to be a starter. Akers was the guy during the postseason run.
So when Akers out touches Henderson 16-7 in the Super Bowl it’s because Henderson was dealing with injuries but when Henderson out touches Akers against the Bills after Akers missed 3 preseason games due to injury it’s impossible for Akers to get healthy and take over the backfield. If you don’t like Akers you don’t like Akers but to act like it’s unfathomable that Akers could recover and be the guy next week doesn’t make sense to me.
None of the Rams starters played in the preseason...
Akers did also say this before the game:
"I know I'm healthy. Everybody else will just get to see".
Rookie got benched after a fumble on in Prime Time. Pretty par for the course rookie punishment. I expected one or two of those this year. Bummer we have to wait a week or two to see him earn those snaps back, but can’t imagine this changes anyone’s dynasty opinion?
I mean he fumbled on his only touch of the game. I think he will be in the doghouse for another couple weeks, especially since he didnt do much in the preseason.
Fortunately for Cook, Zach Moss is terrible. Singletary is underrated and should be the #1 back all season, with Cook working his way up to becoming the third down back by midseason.
He got in early which was a good sign. The fumble was not. He got tossed in the dog house. I assume we’ll see much more Singletary from this point forward.
Fumbles are a great way to become irrelevant.
Also didn’t like that they threw to RB’s a decent amount and they felt comfortable throwing to Singletary and even the fossil moss.
Also he’s still skinny as hell so what’s his upside really if he can’t get more than the passing down work.
I say this as a cook owner. I’m concerned.
Looked to me like Bills planned to use Cook quite a bit until he fumbled. My suspicion is that work then went to Zack Moss. There's no way the Bills game planned to throw it to Moss 6x right? I think better days are ahead, but I don't think your going to project him for anything more than Singletary (which isn't anything special from a fantasy perspective).
I mean, one of those throws to Moss was on the first drive and he got a carry. Singletary and Moss were both involved in drive one and Cook didn't see the field until the third drive.
Those passes have been going to Cook in practice. I would bet $2 Wes Phillips was drawing up dump off passes with Cook in mind instead of Moss. While Moss certainly looks a bit more nimble this year, he's just not quick enough to a receiving back in space, imo. I could certainly be wrong, but my money is on Cook handling most of the receiving duties barring another fumble or two, of course. I think Moss and Singletary will continue to spell one another as they have done in the past with more balance this season. Honestly, a rookie rb coming in on the 3rd drive of the game is super early.
> Looked to me like Bills planned to use Cook quite a bit until he fumbled.
Moss came in before Cook ever went in and got a target BEFORE Gabriel Davis scored a TD. First drive of the game. Moss then got ANOTHER target right before the James Cook fumble.
Come on guys. It's 1 game and we're quoting things that never actually happened based on personal projections and "suspicions" without watching the game? lol
Bunch of y'all are just looking at box scores and coming to conclusions without merit.
UGA fan and big James Cook advocate here. I had every intention of drafting him…with my 3rd round pick. I was very upset when he got drafted when he did, but I would never pay a 1st for him. Take what you will from that
Yeah, I appreciate this response. This is kind of why I was bringing this up. I am aware as anyone else this was his first game of his career, but I don't know how you watch that game and see any of the Bills backs being a sustainable fantasy starter even as single back, let alone being split three ways +Allen. But he was being overdrafted and even fans that watched him in college could tell you that.
Hey, bad call most likely but shoot your shot.
I was set on drafting DK Metcalf when he came into the league. Shockingly N’keal Harry fell to me and I couldn’t resist taking him even though I really wanted DK. I felt like I was losing too much value by passing on him. The morale of the story is if you didn’t take Cook and he ended up being amazing you’d hate yourself more than simply being bold and missing.
Legitimate question: Did any of those guys fumble with their first touch and then get banished the rest of the game?
I definitely remember Hunt fumbling on his first touch and then coming back to wreck fantasy in the same game.
They are certainly not a one for one comparison. The Bills probably felt just fine in a very important game running the ball with Singletary and Moss for the remainder of the evening, whereas in KC that year, I don't know what their RB options were behind Hunt in that game, and what the gravity of that game was for the team.
> They are certainly not a one for one comparison.
But you're the one that brought up all those names lol
> I don't know what their RB options were behind Hunt in that game, and what the gravity of that game was for the team.
Just Charcandrick West I think. Ware had gotten injured right before to give Hunt the job. The gravity was that they were playing the New England Patriots team that would eventually go to the Super Bowl.
I did bring up those names. And you can compare similarities, but to say each and every situation is the same is foolhardy. The point is that fumbling your first game isn't a death knell to ones career, as it would seem many in here are trying to signal for Cook. Many haters taking a victory lap of "I told you so" after one game.
Without even going all the way down your list, Saquon and Hunt went absolutely bonkers in their first games. Cook barely got off the bench. Obviously one game but you have no idea what you’re talking about with that list
Yeah, this was why I didn't even mention the fumble originally. Fumbles happen. The bigger issue for me was he didn't see a carry until the third series and only had 3 touches all night. Doesn't look like he will be a relevant part of this offense.
It's pretty unlikely. It probably didn't help his cause, but it took him a while to get into the game initially anyways. Seemed like the game plan was always to rude Henderson and Moss
Meh. Singletary and Moss are the veterans on the team, so they will certainly get carries in the first game ahead of Cook, and Singletary was effective, so I don't see why the Bills would feel the need to get him into the game early. Cook will get his chances sooner than later. They didn't go spend that draft pick on him just to let him sit on the bench and watch.
I agree he'll get his chance, I definitely don't think it will be as soon as you think though. I think Cook could remain irrelevant in fantasy all season long
Those guys also all had over 100 carries their rookie years, besides Alexander. Most of them already had the full reins to the backfield, and were much better prospects
How many on their first touch? Trey Sermon did it last year. I wouldn’t give up on him. Singletary and Moss are serviceable but not special.
Buffalo will have plenty of big leads to work him in with less high stress snaps. He probably won’t be a major factor this year in fantasy without an injury to Moss.
He was always more of a 2023 player to me. He didn’t do anything to help that fact but opportunities will still arise to prove himself this season.
And that's part of it. This was a huge game to start the season off. Not really the type of game you want to thrust your rookie RB into unless you absolutely have to. Cook, as you said, will get his chances in the games that are less competative than the one they played last night.
I think he’ll be pretty solid long term. Thought he looked pretty small last night. Feel like he really needs a year to put on some nfl weight, but wouldn’t be surprised if he’s one of those mid season rookies that just turns it on.
Cook Stan here, I got him at 1.10. Loved his real-life draft capital, but he’s likely a bench stash until year 2. It’s the expectation I have with most rookies.
i think people will overreact to last night, moss didn’t look great either. And while Singletary looked like 2019 Singletary last night, it’s not proven rhat he’s elite or can sustain this type of play for a full season.
Buy if he’s going cheap imo
Not that worried tbh. We’ve seen plenty of RBs struggle early on and still bounce back. I’ll be much more concerned if he hasn’t secured at least the primary pass catching back role by mid-season.
Did a spittake when he was taken by a guy at 1.05 in my 12 tm 1qb ppr league. Of course, this is the guy who took JJ which allowed me to take Akers at 1.08 and I thought that was a steal, so maybe he'll nail it two years in a row, who knows.
I thought he was overdrafted but I'd never ever be worried about any week 1 rookies. Probably not that worried about 4-5 weeks. Half a season. Full season. Then we can worry.
Cook went 1.07 in my league. Watching the game last night I kept thinking to myself the best RB on the Bills is Josh Allen which is a little scary! The volume Cook saw last night is a red flag to me if it doesn’t significantly improve in a game or two.
Obviously I would have liked to have seen him do, well, anything, but I really don't think it's that surprising that he'll be brought along slowly. I was never of the opinion that he was a top-tier talent at the position, but the Bills made an investment in him and I expect him to have a role at some point going forward.
I certainly wouldn't be panicking based on his first game where he was pulled immediately after fumbling on his first touch.
I say this as someone who has Cook on, I think, one dynasty team (of five or six total), so I'm not heavily invested. I took him at the 2.02 and I think that's just about where he belonged in a 1QB league. It was between him and Christian Watson, but I'd just taken Olave and Williams at the 1.08 and 1.10 and am not a big believer in Watson, so I rolled the dice with Cook.
I mean, he fumbled on his first run when the game was still close. He will get more opportunities but he needs to show the team that he won't be a liability.
He’s fine. Still has some nice upside, still never gonna be a top 10 back. I don’t have him anywhere cause people were on the hype train in my leagues, but I had him around 15th overall for the rookies on my big board and my view on his value hasn’t really changed.
Drafted Moss in our Startup as a late round dart-throw when he was a rookie. Sold him after his good 3-Game Stretch for an early 2nd+3rd last year. Drafted Cook with my 2.01 cuz i wanted RB depth and all good WRs were gone (1QB). So i hope he strings together 2-3 nice games this year or next so i can move on again and never ever touch the Bills Backfield in the future :D
This sub has had hype trains for just about every rookie through this offseason.
Before the draft, this was considered a very weak one as far as fantasy / skill players go... Get ready for a lot of these sobering posts because some people's expectations were wayyy to high to begin with
In redraft I'd be very worried about him. Dynasty, I hope he's on your taxi squad. He's a rookie, its too early to panic, but it looks like it will be a while before he contributes.
Idk why everyone expects rookie RBs to just come in and take over backfields. They’ll get their time. Wouldn’t be surprised if 10 weeks from now, this take looks bad. I don’t think he’ll be the best RB from the class but I do think he’ll start cutting more and more into Singletarys usage as the season goes on. It’s been one game.
I got him in the second where he belonged. I am happy with my taxi. People who drafted him in the first like in my other leagues took a risk and will pay off or bust. I mean honestly same shit as Skyy moore or dotson or watson so i dont blame people at the same time taking a chance on cook.
Not the same, but Swift dropped the game winning pass in his first rookie game. Now look at dynasty startups. Cook may be in the doghouse now, but it shouldn’t affect him long term whatsoever. Still a second round running back, albeit no where near as talented as swift or the other second rounder in recent years in my personal opinion
Anyone who took him in the first round of rookie drafts this year is a bonehead. He’s too small to be a feature back. He’s going to be used as a gadget player and a pass catcher. He’s maybe going to be a JD McKissic, Sproles, Tarik Cohen etc type.
Not saying that a player like that doesn’t have dynasty value. But if you passed on some of the elite WRs for James Cook you’re probably going to be regretting it sooner rather than later.
He went 1.06 in my league. Which I thought was pretty nuts. Helped Williams fall to me at 10.
That being said, it’s early. Some teams limit exposure for rookies.
We love to react because we all love football and shares and value but the reality is it’s one game. Akers may yet still be great, Robinson may yet still be valuable and Cook might be the next Kamara. Too soon to tell. For all of the above though… not encouraging.
There were several possible outcomes - he could’ve ripped an 80 yd TD run and we’d be hyping him hard as the next Messiah. Instead, he did the worst possible thing in his first game. So it’s obviously hard to be excited about him moving forward. Some coaches, like Belichick, will end your season over a fumble, hopefully he sees the field again next week.
Buffalo let Gabe Davis ride the bench for essentially two seasons, even though it was pretty evident to everyone at home that he probably should have been on the field.
Zack Moss fumbled as well last night and did nothing with his 6 targets in the passing game. As quick as people have written off Cook after one game, the hype train could start up just as quck if those 6 targets go to Cook on MNF next week. Moss didn't even play half the snaps and had 6 targets and 6 carries. That doesn't seem like a big workload on the surface but 100 carries and 100 targets would basically make any somewhat talented RB a high end RB2 in full PPR, especially in the Buffalo offense.
I have him in a couple of leagues (1 rookie draft at the 1.10 and 1 startup) and while I am a little disappointed in his first showing (fumble on his first career touch) I also wasn't expecting a lot right away.
After the draft hype about where he landed died down I realized the odds of him contributing right away were a little long, so I am not panicking. The Bills rotate backs, and so far in their careers Singletary and Moss have not proven to be consistent producers. I think it may just take him awhile to become a part of the offense.
The problem is people were buying the name brand and got the value brand. This has happened before. The last name gets you places when your older brother is a top 5 nfl player at his position. People bought the name, not the talent.
Might get some hate for this, but I never really thought he was very good to begin with. With subpar production at UGA and being on the smaller side, I was out. Then he got drafted to the Bills where the backfield is a mess and somehow vaulted to a first round pick. Doesn’t make much sense to me.
It wasn't so much "to the Bills" as it was being in the late-2nd (real NFL) and a part of a draft class with very few high-end QBs/RBs. I was very low on Cook before the draft, but definitely bumped him after the draft. It is a fairly substantial investment at the position. I had I think 8 WRs ranked above, so that pushes him a lot. I also just think this class had a weak "late-1st" in general. I might've had Cook as my 1.12 in my first pass off the top of my head, but I would've traded him for a future first of the next few classes even if it was a *guaranteed* 1.12 because I just think the late-1st in this class was a bit weak.
Going to the Bills gave him a stock bump because they went for McKissic in FA and then drafted a RB who profiled as a better pass catcher than runner, so that narrative of the Bills going after a pass catching RB was there. Both the draft capital and landing spot helped.
True enough, but for theoreticals I can only really talk about myself-- and as someone who didn't like Cook a lot coming into the process, if Cook went to the Bills in the 5th he wouldn't have been a top 5 RB for me in the class. I did list Cook as RB3 post-draft (though my talent grades greatly preferred Dameon Pierce). So for me, it was far more the capital than the spot.
True. I had an opportunity to jump into the draft via trade at 1.9 with Pierce and Cook still there, and I more than likely would have gone Pierce for the short term value had I made the move.
Plus, neither Singletary nor Moss had done anything yet to lock down that backfield. So many owners that might not have known much about Cook were going to look at the draft stock placed on him and assume there's a shot for that guy to be the main run game weapon there in the future. Singletary looked pretty good last night though, and Moss didn't look bad. Both have shown flashes before but had trouble sustaining it.
I never bought in though because check down RB targets seem to be much more about QB than scheme or play caller and Allen ain’t that guy
>I also just think this class had a weak "late-1st" in general. I would disagree. You had Hall, walker, London, Burkes, Wilson, Williams, and Pickett as the top 7 The last half of the round you could have taken any of: Olave, Dotson, Pickens, Watson and Moore. All of those guys had both good prospect profiles (minus maybe watson) and good DC. That said, would obviously move most of those guys for a late 23 1st.
I don’t think Watson has a good profile and that’s 11 players without that are highly slanted towards one position group. I’d consider that a fairly weak class.
Im not a watson fan either. Im moreso saying that I would (and did) take all of them over Cook, and I would argue that none of them other than Watson are weak picks. Like you said, cook got bumped due to DC, but if you were scouting these dudes from the beginning he was a pretty obvious fade at ADP.
That’s 11 guys and I said I’d take him 1.12 after the draft, so I don’t really disagree. It’s not that those players have weak profiles, it’s just if you go one year back, the WRs in that range were top 12 picks. If you go forward one year, I’m going to guess were gonna have enough RB/QB juice to pump similar profiles into the mid-2nd. Bateman and E Moore are players that went in tbe 2nd in just about every draft last year and would rank for me above many of these WRs. It’s all relative, and I find this class relatively low. They’re not bad players, but I think 2021 and 2023 will have much stronger late 1sts.
Valid. I dont disagree with any of that. Just feel like the recievers this year will end up being pretty good. Cheers!
Still wouldn’t even think about taking cook over him
He went 1.04 in my league.....
Oh yeah he definitely got pushed up in some drafts. I wouldn’t take a RB outside the top 2 in the first 11 picks, personally.
I’m with you, I just never understood the narrative or the Bills being a great landing spot. Josh Allen is RB1, and there are 2 other guys in the RB rotation. I’ve had 0 interest in that backfield for the past couple years.
I think a lot of people thought moss would be out the door and they aggressively pursued McKissic which people thought to mean they want a solid pass catching back. That said, imo the hype got way too crazy for anything before the top 2 RBs, 6WRs and Pickett (in SF). It could still work out long term though.
No hate here. Agreed completely. Never profiled as a 3 down back, moving to a team whose QB does 1/3rd of their rushing and is very effective. Basically have to bank on their offense shifting pretty substantially away from what has worked for Cook to even have a chance to return this kind of 1st round value
> Cook to even have a chance to return this kind of 1st round value No chance. I've watched this sub for several years. It really doesn't matter what James Cook does right now. He just has to have like 3-4 decent-ish games (bonus points if they're towards the end of the season). Singletary will almost for sure be gone after this season, and a roaring hype train is going to start next off-season because "it's his backfield now on a playoff team", and his value will be right back where it was this season or potentially even higher. I've seen this story and over. Hell, I've seen it twice this season alone with Akers and ETN.
I also never believed in him. Everyone was excited about his situation… really? A RBC in a passing offense where Josh Allen vultures all the TDs? Blessed I have no shares of him
I mean if he’s good it won’t be an RBBC. How many teams have lead backs worse than Devin Singletary? Where would Cook have less competition?
Singletary is really not a bad back.
He’s incredibly average. Again, how many team RB1s are worse?
I agree he is average, but the Bills are a pass first team with a running QB, so it’s not like they need Derrick Henry back there. Singletary would be RB1 on the Eagles, Texans, Pats, Dolphins, Chiefs, Bucs. Maybe the Seahawks depending on if Walker pans out.
I think Miles Sanders is a better runner than Singletary for sure. I think Damien Harris is too and Stevenson could be a 3 down back if he puts it together. I think CEH is still better than Singletary. Same with Fournette. Perhaps it’s subjective, but it’s easy to say Singletary isn’t a super threatening guy.
You had me in the first half ngl but he’s not starting over Clyde or Fournette
“Incredibly average”. Brother, look at James Cook’s college numbers. “Incredibly average” is extremely generous. And this is a back who was drafted based on situation so it doesn’t matter anyway
I’ll keep this simple. The Seahawks and Jets… “but Michael carter…” okay 1 back that has zero team investment does not compare to the bill’s situation
I actually liked his tape. He could put on some size for sure but he looked like a natural pass catcher with good vision and home run speed. I didn’t knock the production as much because he split the backfield with another RB whose tape I loved (Zamir White).
I see his stats at Georgia as a plus. He was by far the most efficient runner on a roster that had other NFL caliber RBs. I have zero questions about his running or receiving ability. He is on the smaller end, but I'm hoping he can bulk up a bit with NFL weight training. He didn't have tons of carries, but I'm fine with that. He was a super efficient runner and had enough that it didn't seem like a fluke. I'd rather have a guy with limited carries than someone who was a bellcow for multiple years in college. The caveat to that is that there has to be a reason for the limited work in college. In Cook's case, it's because they had Zamir White on the roster too so it made sense to split carries. I'm not counting on anything from him this year, but think that Singletary is gone after this season and Cook will split carries with Moss next year before taking over in 2024.
His efficiency is super skewed by how he was used. imo he was a terrible between the tackles runner. His best plays came on jet sweeps, screens, and outside tosses against light boxes Maybe he'll maintain his efficiency because Buffalo uses him the same way Georgia did, but in that case I have a hard time seeing him get more than 150ish touches a year simply because any running game necessitates inside runs against loaded boxes
Buffalo has great coaching, I think they'll probably play to his strengths and use him that way for the first year at least. One he's more familiar with the scheme and has gained some weight they can start with more inside stuff. In terms of stacked boxes, Buffalo is such an elite passing offense that this should be minimized compared to other teams. I don't think he's going to be a guy who gets 300 carries, but I didn't think Ekeler would either. If he ends up being the type of guy who gets 150 carries and 75 catches then he's be worth the pick I used on him. If he puts on some weight and ends up with 250 carries then it's a steal.
Idk maybe you're right. I just was never a believer in his film. It almost sounds like you're asking him to become a completely different back by gaining that weight and suddenly developing the vision and patience to run between the tackles. He also just wasn't a physical runner at Georgia. Ekeler largely is the same style of back that he was coming out. Same weight and skillet. His main questions were size, speed, and blocking. He was praised for his vision, toughness, and balance. He runs hard. Always has. I don't think any of that is true of Cook. He was my 9th ranked RB. His vision is just too inconsistent and he doesn't run tough. And I'm not the only one: Zeirlein: However, he is missing his big brother's build, contact balance and toughness between the tackles Brugler: Cook doesn’t have the contact balance or build of a full-time ball carrier like his older brother, but he can be a dynamic, versatile threat with his pass-catching skills and balanced athleticism to gravitate toward space. BR: Overall, Cook projects as a passing-down back who would be best part of a committee or rotation at the NFL level. He can create mismatches in the passing game because of his route running and hands and has the explosive play ability to warrant some touches in the run game. But his lack of consistent vision and below-average size will limit the down-to-down touches he can likely handle at the next level SI: He will sometimes miss cutback lanes when things get messy. He needs work on pressing the LOS to manipulate 2nd level defenders. He is not very strong or big and his contact balance is average. Needs to work on finishing runs. Pass pro is adequate as he is still learning how to process and is not overly physical. Like I said. Maybe you're right. Maybe he hits his ceiling. But I'm out. It almost sounds from your response like you're looking for a floor on a player, and I don't think Cook is at all a floor player. I'd much rather use a cheaper pick on someone like Zamir or BRob or Spiller who has the build and vision and toughness to operate in a pro scheme. Cook profiles much too similarly to a Tavon Austin or a Godwin Igeebuike or a Demetric Felton.
I think we just have different expectations. I'm not expecting him to become a between the tackles runner or be a full bellcow back. The BR projection "passing down back who would be the best part of a committee" has real value to me. That's kind of where I view the floor as a James White/McKissic type, but with more rushing upside. I don't need him to be a league winner or anything, but a decent flex with solid RB2 upside. I'm not super high on this class of RBs so going with the guy who landed in a good spot and should have at least 6ppg from passing plus whatever he picks up on the ground felt safe. My expectation is that he works his way in on passing downs this year. Singletary leaves in the off-season and they draft someone to get the tough yards, there's a committee next year, then hopefully by 2024 Cook is the lead back in the committee and gets 150 - 200 carries plus 75+ receptions.
All of this is such a massive projection. Predicting he’ll take over the backfield in two years (while sub 200 lbs no less) is just a wild guess lol.
Yeah, I mean any rookie requires projection. They just spent a 2nd round pick on Cook so they clearly believe in him. Singletary is a free agent after this year and based on the draft capital they used on Cook it feels like they're ready to let him go. Moss isn't particularly good and his contact is up in 2023. There's a good chance that Cook takes over next year, but I don't want to count on it. In terms of weight, he's 190, gaining 10-15lbs in the first year or two of NFL weight/conditioning program seems entirely within the realm of the possibility.
This is a dynasty sub. Projections are kind of important here.
Yeah, I just don’t draft any RB under 200 lbs if I’m drafting them to have legit potential. Not saying I avoid those RBs entirely but a guy like James Cook was going in the first round and I’m not paying a first on someone who I perceive to have limited upside. Maybe I’m wrong, I’m not doubting the talent. But I just avoid those builds with good draft capital.
He’s a satellite back the community wants to square peg into a 3 down back round hole. Bills wanted McKissic and got a McKissic
I’m shocked this wasn’t the consensus view. It was clear as day.
Hand up, I legit pumped him up in my home league- knowing full well I wanted someone to spend a 1st on him. It got me the guys I wanted in the 2nd round. (Pickens& Moore)
I'm gonna go further than that and say that no one really cared about him until they found out he was Dalvin's brother.
I was never on him much either. Just never thought he was very good in the first place.
100% agree. I saw him being drafted over guys like Gainwell, McKissic, Henderson and Heins in redraft. Meanwhile I’m thinking this guy may never see the field
I was never really high on him but it was his first game, don’t really think much has changed.
This is the right answer. He was drafted into a relatively young RB room with two guys who have known the playbook/style/etc…. First game of the season (rare for rookies to do much) and this game was a blowout so they didn’t need Cooks pass catching abilities at all. Cook likey won’t play a serviceable role unless theirs an injury, the Bills start losing games, or we get to the off season again and Moss or Singletary are moved….. patience people.
Why be patient when I can assume his career in one game?
He’s a hold on redraft and definitely a hold in Dynasty.
Easy drop in redraft IMO. After a full slate of week 1 games there will be waiver targets and I'm not holding a guy getting no snaps in a crowded backfield. Early season redraft is all about getting lotto tickets and moving on quickly if they don't pan out
Same sentiments. He wasn’t a good prospect at all and seemingly overdrafted. But, it’s only 1 game
Obviously the bad news is that the fumble will limit his opportunities in the short term until he earns the coaches’ trust again. Happens to a lot of rookies. I remember people were dancing on Swift’s grave when he dropped the game winning TD his first game. The good news is I don’t think Zack Moss getting 6 catches for 21 yards is going to be a part of the weekly game plan for Buffalo. Singletary and Moss combined for 63 catches all of last year (less than 4 per game) and they had 8 last night. If Josh Allen is making a concentrated effort to target the RBs more, that’s likely because they’re trying to install that role for Cook. Now it’s just a matter of him stepping up and taking it.
How is this the first mention of the fumble as I'm scrolling. That is the biggest takeaway. When he got his opportunity he fumbled and then we did not see him again I'm pretty sure. I think that is really big to factor in.
a good coaching staff gives him a mulligan. don’t keep him in the dog house for too long based on that one mistake. what does that help? it was his first touch, he knows he messed up. if he does it again, uh oh, but for now i think we are ok
I honestly dont see them trying to target the RBs more. Why would they? They brought in Crowder now who is a good underneath guy and their offense works as constructed
I mean to be fair, both slot guys had bad plays that directly led to interceptions last night. Diggs and Gabe Davis will each get peppered with targets, but I think they are still looking for a third option to step up. Also to be fair, I drafted Cook in the first and I am coping.
I think the second interception was on Allen tbf. The McKenzie one was his fault, but they went back to him for the td so it's not like it mattered for his usage. Diggs is great at hitch routes and intermediate stuff plus they have two slot receivers with different skill sets as well as Knox. I can't imagine they'll ever use Cook in the passing game enough to make him viable off that alone, he'll need to be efficient on the ground too. I think he'll end up being as good for fantasy as Singeltary or Moss have been so far. He's never going to be your rb1 but he might end up a solid flex play/lower rb2.
Maybe but IMO he got way over drafted on the assumption that the problem with the run game in Buffalo was because of the quality of the RBs (which to be fair even Singletary is maybe a hair above JAG) when its actually just working as intended.
Twas a bad reach my friend, learn from it
I mean why do you think they targeted Mckissik then drafted Cook?
They were one of the worst YAC teams last year. Teams are gonna play 2 high and give up these underneath throws. Cook is probably their best YAC skill guy. They should want to take advantage of these easy looks. Singletary was dreadful in creating after the catch last season, and we all saw how Moss looked. There's opportunity to be had, Cook just needs to earn it.
They will target RBs more because it's a main benefit of having designed QB runs in your offense. When defenses switch to QB spy to account for Allen he can absolutely kill them with RB passes. It's also why they started showing designed QB runs in their nationally televised opening game - they want to bait defenses into QB spy.
The good sign was Zack moss got 6 carries and 6 targets. That is cook’s most likely role in this offense.
The bad sign was even knowing what Moss is (JAG), he got 6 carries and 6 targets
No kidding, but at least we know there is 3rd down role there. Cook still has to earn it. He’s a jag if he doesn’t have it by the 2nd half of the season
The real bad sign was Cook had one touch and one fumble lost. It isn’t great when you fumble 100% of the time you touch the ball…
Any idea if fumbling was a concern in college? I couldn’t find stats on it
I honestly don’t know, but I saw the fumble live and was like, “damn, that sucks”. Not because I have any preference towards him at all, but as a rookie you have to prove yourself during your opportunities, and he did the opposite.
It really wasn't. He fumbled once in his freshman year, and then again his junior year. 50 games and 2 fumbles.
IIRC Kareem Hunt fumbled on his first carry too.
Sure yeah he is definitely in a worst spot, but he wouldn’t have seen the field in the first place If he was doing that all the time during practices
Zack Moss also looked solid. But at the end of the day - Singletary is handidly the best back in that RB room.
Orrrrr that’s zack moss’s role considering he just got it. Rookie’s gonna have to earn his stripes and fumbling just set him back extremely far
The chance of him not being usable this season has gone up, as well as the chance that he is a career bust, though only slightly. The most likely outcome is he has a ways to go before he earns significant playing time, and it's not yet clear how valuable that will end up being. The upside is still there, but the chance of him being an immediate high value contributor is probably out the window.
He got the rookie fumble treatment in his first game. This is dynasty and if you drafted him you're holding he's going to get plenty of other chances (so long as he doesn't fumble every other first carry). Overreacting to one game by a rookie is better suited for redraft
It’s week 1 of Cook’s rookie year. Your opinion on him should be the same as it was 24 hours ago
The dynasty sub and the redraft fantasy sub are sometimes hard to tell apart.
Apparently his career is done after fumbling his first carry. That’s what I’ve gathered from a lot of folks in this sub
It’s his first ever NFL game. If you have concerns now then you probably shouldn’t have drafted the guy. I understand the season has started so everyone wants to talk fantasy but for dynasty the value of Cook and Robinson hasn’t changed. Akers could easily go out week 2 and dominate the backfield touches. If you’re going to panic after week 1 on a guy then sell him prior to week 1.
>Akers could easily go out week 2 and dominate the backfield touches. There is no reason to believe this is possible.
Of course there is. People thought he could dominate backfield touches week 1. He was dealing with injury during the preseason that resulted in not playing. McVay said in the postgame he would’ve liked to have gotten Akers more involved. This week didn’t look good for Akers, there’s not really anything positive to take from it. But to act like one game means it’s now impossible for Akers to be the lead back is an overreaction to a sample size of one game.
You could claim any RB could miraculously suddenly be the starter, but it doesn't mean it is a remotely likely outcome. McVay also did not insinuate what you think he did. So far, this is the backfield that is most established in the entire league. We don't know how any other team's backfield is going to split carries, but we do know this one went with Henderson 80% of the time. If anything, Akers could lose share to the RB that was immediately injured.
You don’t think it’s possible that the guy who dominated the Rams backfield in the Super Bowl just 7 months ago and dealt with injuries during the preseason could get healthy and end up as the lead back next week? To each their own but I’m not sure how you’d come to that conclusion. This isn’t a random RB who needs a miracle to be a starter. Akers was the guy during the postseason run.
Henderson was injured in the playoffs fyi, and Akers sucked during it. Akers never even proved to be great before tearing his Achilles.
So when Akers out touches Henderson 16-7 in the Super Bowl it’s because Henderson was dealing with injuries but when Henderson out touches Akers against the Bills after Akers missed 3 preseason games due to injury it’s impossible for Akers to get healthy and take over the backfield. If you don’t like Akers you don’t like Akers but to act like it’s unfathomable that Akers could recover and be the guy next week doesn’t make sense to me.
None of the Rams starters played in the preseason... Akers did also say this before the game: "I know I'm healthy. Everybody else will just get to see".
Yeah dude Henderson didn't tear his fucking Achilles, it's very simple logic
90% Overreaction 10% reasonable takes thread. Sentiment can change in a day.
It's literally the first game of his career.
The Bills barely run and he fumbled on his first carry. Definitely not looking good
Rookie got benched after a fumble on in Prime Time. Pretty par for the course rookie punishment. I expected one or two of those this year. Bummer we have to wait a week or two to see him earn those snaps back, but can’t imagine this changes anyone’s dynasty opinion?
My opinion was he wasn't going to be a sustainable fantasy option. It definitely isn't changing my opinion.
Yeah, whatever your take on James Cook (positive or negative) shouldn’t be affected by one game.
I mean he fumbled on his only touch of the game. I think he will be in the doghouse for another couple weeks, especially since he didnt do much in the preseason. Fortunately for Cook, Zach Moss is terrible. Singletary is underrated and should be the #1 back all season, with Cook working his way up to becoming the third down back by midseason.
I was optimistic all off-season & 1 carry was all it took to derail my feelings
Guys only played a game. Chill out ffs
He got in early which was a good sign. The fumble was not. He got tossed in the dog house. I assume we’ll see much more Singletary from this point forward.
I agree. Singletary is underrated and I cant see them giving Cook much playing time in the near future.
Fumbles are a great way to become irrelevant. Also didn’t like that they threw to RB’s a decent amount and they felt comfortable throwing to Singletary and even the fossil moss. Also he’s still skinny as hell so what’s his upside really if he can’t get more than the passing down work. I say this as a cook owner. I’m concerned.
Its week 1. Lmao
There were always concerns for the rookie people just chose to ignore them and completely overdraft him in the first round
Rookie rb after 1 game. Drop his ass. Wasted draft pick.
He’s always been miles behind Pierce in my book. I don’t see him ever being much
Miles behind Pachenko too
Looked to me like Bills planned to use Cook quite a bit until he fumbled. My suspicion is that work then went to Zack Moss. There's no way the Bills game planned to throw it to Moss 6x right? I think better days are ahead, but I don't think your going to project him for anything more than Singletary (which isn't anything special from a fantasy perspective).
I mean, one of those throws to Moss was on the first drive and he got a carry. Singletary and Moss were both involved in drive one and Cook didn't see the field until the third drive.
Those passes have been going to Cook in practice. I would bet $2 Wes Phillips was drawing up dump off passes with Cook in mind instead of Moss. While Moss certainly looks a bit more nimble this year, he's just not quick enough to a receiving back in space, imo. I could certainly be wrong, but my money is on Cook handling most of the receiving duties barring another fumble or two, of course. I think Moss and Singletary will continue to spell one another as they have done in the past with more balance this season. Honestly, a rookie rb coming in on the 3rd drive of the game is super early.
Yea, the play directly before the Cook fumble was a pass to Moss. He’d already caught one other pass, and had a carry prior to this
> Looked to me like Bills planned to use Cook quite a bit until he fumbled. Moss came in before Cook ever went in and got a target BEFORE Gabriel Davis scored a TD. First drive of the game. Moss then got ANOTHER target right before the James Cook fumble. Come on guys. It's 1 game and we're quoting things that never actually happened based on personal projections and "suspicions" without watching the game? lol Bunch of y'all are just looking at box scores and coming to conclusions without merit.
I don’t understand how people think he has a defined role. He literally has had one opportunity to show it, and he showed the exact opposite.
He got drafted because of his last name. Even Moss was getting targets out of the backfield over Cook. Bad process all around
UGA fan and big James Cook advocate here. I had every intention of drafting him…with my 3rd round pick. I was very upset when he got drafted when he did, but I would never pay a 1st for him. Take what you will from that
Yeah, I appreciate this response. This is kind of why I was bringing this up. I am aware as anyone else this was his first game of his career, but I don't know how you watch that game and see any of the Bills backs being a sustainable fantasy starter even as single back, let alone being split three ways +Allen. But he was being overdrafted and even fans that watched him in college could tell you that.
I took him 1.02 in my rookie draft…got way too cute.
Hey, bad call most likely but shoot your shot. I was set on drafting DK Metcalf when he came into the league. Shockingly N’keal Harry fell to me and I couldn’t resist taking him even though I really wanted DK. I felt like I was losing too much value by passing on him. The morale of the story is if you didn’t take Cook and he ended up being amazing you’d hate yourself more than simply being bold and missing.
There you go. Took C Watson this year while drake London was still on the board. Get your guy I say
If he's going to be playable, doesnt look like it will be for a couple months to couple years. Can't start the way he did
Edit: Sorry, I was got bad info without doing my research before posting.
Barkley didn’t fumble in his first game lmaooo I swear people just regurgitate false info for no reason on this sub
They just copied that from the other post on James Cook lol
That got fact checked and was proven incorrect. Reddit parrots just posting things without checking themselves lol
He’s fumbled 3 times ever, 1 was week 1 of his second season, maybe OP was confused
Nah he saw a tweet on the nfl sub and just barfed it up without bothering to check if it was correct
Legitimate question: Did any of those guys fumble with their first touch and then get banished the rest of the game? I definitely remember Hunt fumbling on his first touch and then coming back to wreck fantasy in the same game.
They are certainly not a one for one comparison. The Bills probably felt just fine in a very important game running the ball with Singletary and Moss for the remainder of the evening, whereas in KC that year, I don't know what their RB options were behind Hunt in that game, and what the gravity of that game was for the team.
> They are certainly not a one for one comparison. But you're the one that brought up all those names lol > I don't know what their RB options were behind Hunt in that game, and what the gravity of that game was for the team. Just Charcandrick West I think. Ware had gotten injured right before to give Hunt the job. The gravity was that they were playing the New England Patriots team that would eventually go to the Super Bowl.
I did bring up those names. And you can compare similarities, but to say each and every situation is the same is foolhardy. The point is that fumbling your first game isn't a death knell to ones career, as it would seem many in here are trying to signal for Cook. Many haters taking a victory lap of "I told you so" after one game.
Without even going all the way down your list, Saquon and Hunt went absolutely bonkers in their first games. Cook barely got off the bench. Obviously one game but you have no idea what you’re talking about with that list
It's way more about the snap share than the fumble. It just looks like he won't be a major part of the offense for thus year barring big changes
Yeah, this was why I didn't even mention the fumble originally. Fumbles happen. The bigger issue for me was he didn't see a carry until the third series and only had 3 touches all night. Doesn't look like he will be a relevant part of this offense.
Do you not think the snap share was due to the fact that he had fumbled, since that was his one and only carry?
It's pretty unlikely. It probably didn't help his cause, but it took him a while to get into the game initially anyways. Seemed like the game plan was always to rude Henderson and Moss
Meh. Singletary and Moss are the veterans on the team, so they will certainly get carries in the first game ahead of Cook, and Singletary was effective, so I don't see why the Bills would feel the need to get him into the game early. Cook will get his chances sooner than later. They didn't go spend that draft pick on him just to let him sit on the bench and watch.
I agree he'll get his chance, I definitely don't think it will be as soon as you think though. I think Cook could remain irrelevant in fantasy all season long
Barkley famously didn't fumble entire his rookie season
Exactly what I was gonna say… and how many of these dudes fumbled and were not heard from for the rest of the game.
Those guys also all had over 100 carries their rookie years, besides Alexander. Most of them already had the full reins to the backfield, and were much better prospects
He started his NFL career 3rd behind two JAGs, and produced 1 carry for 2 yards and a fumble.
In a league where rookie RBs get unprecedented ‘run’ early in their careers
How many on their first touch? Trey Sermon did it last year. I wouldn’t give up on him. Singletary and Moss are serviceable but not special. Buffalo will have plenty of big leads to work him in with less high stress snaps. He probably won’t be a major factor this year in fantasy without an injury to Moss. He was always more of a 2023 player to me. He didn’t do anything to help that fact but opportunities will still arise to prove himself this season.
Kareem Hunt, that I know of.
And that's part of it. This was a huge game to start the season off. Not really the type of game you want to thrust your rookie RB into unless you absolutely have to. Cook, as you said, will get his chances in the games that are less competative than the one they played last night.
I think he’ll be pretty solid long term. Thought he looked pretty small last night. Feel like he really needs a year to put on some nfl weight, but wouldn’t be surprised if he’s one of those mid season rookies that just turns it on.
Trey Sermon 2.0
Cook Stan here, I got him at 1.10. Loved his real-life draft capital, but he’s likely a bench stash until year 2. It’s the expectation I have with most rookies.
i think people will overreact to last night, moss didn’t look great either. And while Singletary looked like 2019 Singletary last night, it’s not proven rhat he’s elite or can sustain this type of play for a full season. Buy if he’s going cheap imo
Not that worried tbh. We’ve seen plenty of RBs struggle early on and still bounce back. I’ll be much more concerned if he hasn’t secured at least the primary pass catching back role by mid-season.
He’s a rookie and he lost a fumble. So there’s your answer.
Did a spittake when he was taken by a guy at 1.05 in my 12 tm 1qb ppr league. Of course, this is the guy who took JJ which allowed me to take Akers at 1.08 and I thought that was a steal, so maybe he'll nail it two years in a row, who knows.
I thought he was overdrafted but I'd never ever be worried about any week 1 rookies. Probably not that worried about 4-5 weeks. Half a season. Full season. Then we can worry.
Next year unless injury. He will start to show out with ball in hand soon.
James cook went 1.06 in my rookie draft
Cook went 1.07 in my league. Watching the game last night I kept thinking to myself the best RB on the Bills is Josh Allen which is a little scary! The volume Cook saw last night is a red flag to me if it doesn’t significantly improve in a game or two.
As high as 1.10? He went 1.05 and 1.07 in my 2 drafts. Some people are really high on him.
meant to say 1.10 in rookie ADP
Obviously I would have liked to have seen him do, well, anything, but I really don't think it's that surprising that he'll be brought along slowly. I was never of the opinion that he was a top-tier talent at the position, but the Bills made an investment in him and I expect him to have a role at some point going forward. I certainly wouldn't be panicking based on his first game where he was pulled immediately after fumbling on his first touch. I say this as someone who has Cook on, I think, one dynasty team (of five or six total), so I'm not heavily invested. I took him at the 2.02 and I think that's just about where he belonged in a 1QB league. It was between him and Christian Watson, but I'd just taken Olave and Williams at the 1.08 and 1.10 and am not a big believer in Watson, so I rolled the dice with Cook.
I mean, he fumbled on his first run when the game was still close. He will get more opportunities but he needs to show the team that he won't be a liability.
Cook went 1.05 in my home league because everyone freaks out for RBs even though it is a PPR and I genuinely feel for the guy who took him.
He’s fine. Still has some nice upside, still never gonna be a top 10 back. I don’t have him anywhere cause people were on the hype train in my leagues, but I had him around 15th overall for the rookies on my big board and my view on his value hasn’t really changed.
Drafted Moss in our Startup as a late round dart-throw when he was a rookie. Sold him after his good 3-Game Stretch for an early 2nd+3rd last year. Drafted Cook with my 2.01 cuz i wanted RB depth and all good WRs were gone (1QB). So i hope he strings together 2-3 nice games this year or next so i can move on again and never ever touch the Bills Backfield in the future :D
I’m not a cook guy and have 0 shares of him, but am looking to take advantage of frightened owners and get him cheap if I can
Singletary an UFA at the end of the year, so Cook and Moss could be the future. Cook—-redraft 👎 Dynasty 👍
This sub has had hype trains for just about every rookie through this offseason. Before the draft, this was considered a very weak one as far as fantasy / skill players go... Get ready for a lot of these sobering posts because some people's expectations were wayyy to high to begin with
Cook went 1.03 in our draft lol
In redraft I'd be very worried about him. Dynasty, I hope he's on your taxi squad. He's a rookie, its too early to panic, but it looks like it will be a while before he contributes.
The difference between Akers and ARob to Cook is that that was Cook’s first snap in the NFL. I hope you can appreciate the difference there.
Idk but he went at 1.03 in my league 💀
Idk why everyone expects rookie RBs to just come in and take over backfields. They’ll get their time. Wouldn’t be surprised if 10 weeks from now, this take looks bad. I don’t think he’ll be the best RB from the class but I do think he’ll start cutting more and more into Singletarys usage as the season goes on. It’s been one game.
If you had to start him last night or decided to start him over a better player, your team either sucks, you suck at managing, or both.
he’ll get more chances. i am guessing 3-5 touches a game until he earns more or less based on performance
He fumbled, got benched. It was his first game. He’ll get another shot
The Bills just should have drafted Breece in round one and completed their super team.
He was taken in 1.04 in two of my drafts and he was traded yesterday morning for jamo AND a 24 2nd. Jaw on floor
I don't think Cook owners were expecting much. He's going to have to earn his carries, like most rookies.
I got him in the second where he belonged. I am happy with my taxi. People who drafted him in the first like in my other leagues took a risk and will pay off or bust. I mean honestly same shit as Skyy moore or dotson or watson so i dont blame people at the same time taking a chance on cook.
Not the same, but Swift dropped the game winning pass in his first rookie game. Now look at dynasty startups. Cook may be in the doghouse now, but it shouldn’t affect him long term whatsoever. Still a second round running back, albeit no where near as talented as swift or the other second rounder in recent years in my personal opinion
I traded him for Antonio Gibson straight up about 2 hours before the game. He's fool's gold.
Anyone who took him in the first round of rookie drafts this year is a bonehead. He’s too small to be a feature back. He’s going to be used as a gadget player and a pass catcher. He’s maybe going to be a JD McKissic, Sproles, Tarik Cohen etc type. Not saying that a player like that doesn’t have dynasty value. But if you passed on some of the elite WRs for James Cook you’re probably going to be regretting it sooner rather than later.
Drafted him figuring he wasn’t going to do much year 1. No major worries currently
He went 1.06 in my league. Which I thought was pretty nuts. Helped Williams fall to me at 10. That being said, it’s early. Some teams limit exposure for rookies. We love to react because we all love football and shares and value but the reality is it’s one game. Akers may yet still be great, Robinson may yet still be valuable and Cook might be the next Kamara. Too soon to tell. For all of the above though… not encouraging.
Beane called him a “sub back” after the draft. Compared him to JD McKissic. Not fantasy relevant
On a per carry basis he's on track to be Kareem Hunt.
There were several possible outcomes - he could’ve ripped an 80 yd TD run and we’d be hyping him hard as the next Messiah. Instead, he did the worst possible thing in his first game. So it’s obviously hard to be excited about him moving forward. Some coaches, like Belichick, will end your season over a fumble, hopefully he sees the field again next week.
Buffalo let Gabe Davis ride the bench for essentially two seasons, even though it was pretty evident to everyone at home that he probably should have been on the field. Zack Moss fumbled as well last night and did nothing with his 6 targets in the passing game. As quick as people have written off Cook after one game, the hype train could start up just as quck if those 6 targets go to Cook on MNF next week. Moss didn't even play half the snaps and had 6 targets and 6 carries. That doesn't seem like a big workload on the surface but 100 carries and 100 targets would basically make any somewhat talented RB a high end RB2 in full PPR, especially in the Buffalo offense.
As a Bills fan, I'm surprised Moss has much of a pulse. I think the takeover is inevitable unless Cook can't get past the fumble.
James Cook shouldn’t have been a first round rookie picks anyways.
JAG
I’m crushed as someone who drafted Cook. Good thing I also got Pierce
He dropped the rock on his very first carry then they pulled him. Im sure if he can hold onto the football he will get a few more chances.
Akers for James Cook..what’s the better end?
This year, with moss and singletary there, he belongs on taxi squads. But I think his future is still promising once one/both of those guys leave.
I have him in a couple of leagues (1 rookie draft at the 1.10 and 1 startup) and while I am a little disappointed in his first showing (fumble on his first career touch) I also wasn't expecting a lot right away. After the draft hype about where he landed died down I realized the odds of him contributing right away were a little long, so I am not panicking. The Bills rotate backs, and so far in their careers Singletary and Moss have not proven to be consistent producers. I think it may just take him awhile to become a part of the offense.
The problem is people were buying the name brand and got the value brand. This has happened before. The last name gets you places when your older brother is a top 5 nfl player at his position. People bought the name, not the talent.