James Cook
vs Bijan Robinson

“While the outcome was mild against a Houston defense we still buy as one of the best defensive fronts, Cook got the usage we wanted to see. He played 69.2% of the snaps (RB11) and saw 88.9% of the backfield touches (RB4). The one element that left more to be desired was the passing-game usage that was talked up this preseason.”

“James Cook (RB – BUF) In 2024, James Cook dominated, scoring 16 touchdowns and rushing for 1,009 yards. That production seemed unsustainable. In 2025, he recorded 1,621 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, and gave us even more reason to be confident.”

“While Cook does not have the pass-catching profile that usually benefits from a full PPR format, he has been one of the absolute best assets to have on a fantasy roster over the past few seasons, finishing as a top-12 RB each of the last three years. There is hope that Cook may become more involved in the passing game for the Bills, which would only give his fantasy ceiling a boost.”

“James Cook (RB – BUF) has already shown flashes of every skill needed to be the overall RB1: a big receiving season, an 18-touchdown season, and a 1,600-yard rushing season, just never all in the same year.”

“James Cook was picked as the best value on the board at 11th overall, priced almost entirely off last year’s production rather than his upside. The case for a top-three running back season rests on four pillars, and Cook checks every one.”

“James Cook was a no-brainer pick, and it came down to Derrick Henry and Ashton Jeanty for the RB2 slot.”

“The Bills put their money where their mouth is by giving James Cook a ton of money, then followed that up with a bunch of touches (349, to be exact), and brought the rushing title back to Buffalo. James Cook led the NFL in 2025 with 11 games of 80+ rushing yards.”

“James Cook is expected to be more involved in the passing game under new offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, whose running backs have been heavily involved in the passing attack throughout his coaching history. Cook had a career-high 309 rush attempts in the regular season en route to the NFL rushing title last season, and shifting some of his carries into targets could be a wise move given his excellent receiving skills demonstrated at the NFL level.”

“Unlike Saquon Barkley, who also plays with a quarterback used heavily near the end zone, the Bills do mix in Cook near the end zone, instead of strictly relying on Josh Allen moving the pile. Cook had 14 rushing attempts inside the 5-yard line in 2025 (tied for 8th in the NFL) with 6 touchdowns on those runs.”

“RB Receiving Usage *Data from PFF Bijan Robinson is on another planet in terms of usage. He saw 62% of Atlanta’s total rush attempts and targets on the day, the highest rate of his career! Looking at the Buccaneers backfield, Bucky Irving was not usurped by any means by Kenneth Gainwell .”

“However, the literal majority of those yards came from dumpoffs to Bijan Robinson, who finished with 90 yards (mostly on catch-and-runs) on ten targets. That leaves, if you can do the math: 53 passing yards on 12 targets that went to the rest of the team. Unfortunately for managers who drafted them, Drake London and Kyle Pitts combined for two catches for 29 yards on five targets.”

“We’ve seen Robinson put up strong fantasy performances with subpar quarterbacks, and Rush should be checkdown-friendly.”

“Jonathan Taylor , Derrick Henry , Jahmyr Gibbs , and Bijan Robinson could all threaten 300 rush attempts, making them excellent candidates to become the 2026 NFL rushing yards leader.”

“Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL) Robinson has been a fantasy star since entering the NFL, posting a top-nine PPR finish every year of his career. Furthermore, the former Texas star finished as the RB3 in 2024 and the RB2 last season despite totaling only seven rushing touchdowns.”

“Robinson is my favorite bet to be the RB1 overall in 2026.”

“Last year, Bijan Robinson was the RB2 in fantasy points per game. For most of the season, he was pacing towards a 1,000-yard season for rushing and receiving before tailing off at the end of the season (820 receiving yards).”

“Meanwhile, Bijan Robinson is the top overall player on my board and should see a spike in goal-line rushing work with Tyler Allgeier finally gone.”

“The Case for Bijan Robinson Since entering the league in 2023, Robinson has established himself as an elite running back.”