I was all over James Cook last season, but quite honestly, heading into 2024, I'm not really sure where I stand on him. Clearly, there have been some big changes to the Buffalo offense, and I'm not quite sure how things are going to shake out this season without Buffalo having that alpha wide receiver like Stefon Diggs over the last few years. And I know Gabe Davis was wildly inconsistent, but he, as a field stretcher, did exactly what that offense needed him to do.
Now, James Cook finds himself in a situation with less talented wide receivers all around him and maybe some more commitment to him in the run game, but we thought that was supposed to happen last year. Last season was a little shaky to start as well, with only three fantasy-viable performances during the first six weeks of the season. Then, it was really up and down after that. Even his volume was up and down; one week he'd be in the 20s for carries, and then the next week he would be at like 12. There were a couple of weeks where he got single-digit carries. His volume in the passing game was widely inconsistent as well, and he didn't score rushing touchdowns, thanks to Josh Allen.
The Buffalo Bills did invest late in a couple of running backs with Ray Davis and Frank Gore Jr., and I don't think any of them are a threat to take a significant amount of touches away from James Cook. Maybe we see Ray Davis get worked into the passing game a little bit. James Cook had issues with drops last season, but he still ran for over 1,100 yards. My biggest thing with James Cook this season is really going to be the touchdowns. Two years ago, he scored two touchdowns on just over 80 carries. This past season, he scored two touchdowns on just over 230 carries. We need to see a bump up in the number of times that he is finding the end zone.
If he does that, he will likely give us really solid upper RB2-type production. Heck, we might even see him as an RB1 some weeks throughout the season. But if he can't find the end zone and he has issues with consistency once again this year, we are looking at probably another disappointing season if you end up overdrafting him. Just make sure you temper expectations. Instead of expecting James Cook to be your RB1 and carry your team, maybe we should look at him more as an RB2 that will just help support your team.
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