James Cook vs Brock Bowers

“Check out all of Fitz’s top fantasy football draft picks to target >> James Cook (BUF) James Cook led the NFL in rushing yards in 2025 (1,621).”

“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.”

“Repeat Seasons It should be more of the same for James Cook and Chase Brown , who saw little change in their offenses this offseason.”

“31 10 21 James Cook 13 5 8 Josh Jacobs 7 15 -8 Saquon Barkley 2 13 -11 Bucky Irving 10 33 -23 In past years, so many top RBs have gotten hurt that the Zero (or hero) RB draft strategies have become popular.”

“I recently gushed about James Cook and Ray Davis as players to target at Underdog at their ADPs .”

“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.”

“Well, so much for all of the regression talk about James Cook last year. Cook crushed all of the haters, improving his stock as the RB6 in fantasy points per game. He led the NFL in rushing yards (1,621) while finishing third in rushing attempts and sixth in rushing touchdowns (tied).”

“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.”

“Cook got a new contract last offseason, which was well-earned on the field. He had the best season of his early career, setting career highs in rushing attempts (309), rushing yards (1,621), touches (342), and yards from scrimmage (1,912) to go along with 14 touchdowns.”

“Brock Bowers has been fantastic since he entered the NFL. He dealt with injuries last season, but was unstoppable when healthy.”

“Starting WR/WR with Drake London or Nico Collins in round two could let you lean into Zero RB with an elite tight end such as Brock Bowers or Trey McBride .”

“If limited to the 10 final starts, which include two games against the Broncos and a game against the Seahawks, 230 yards per game given the limited receiving options outside of Brock Bowers is a lofty target.”

“Brock Bowers (TE – LV) is a long-shot dark horse for Offensive Player of the Year.”

“Despite playing on one leg for the entire season, Bowers still ranked 13th in yards per route run and first downs per route run last season (per Fantasy Points Data). To understand Bowers’ 2026 upside and talent, we need to rewind to 2024 when he was the TE3 in fantasy points per game. During that season, he was seventh in target per route run rate, sixth in yards per route run, third in receiving yards per game, second in first read share, and seventh in first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data).”

“Well, here we are… Brock Bowers is hands down the fantasy TE1.”

“Brock Bowers (TE – LV) Brock Bowers was injured a lot last season, and the quarterback situation was poor”

“Round 4: Brock Bowers (TE – LV) Brock Bowers dealt with injuries last season, but assuming he stays healthy this season, he should be in for a TE1-caliber season.”

“I’m certainly willing to spend early-round draft capital on Brock Bowers , who’s capable of putting up the sort of numbers the elite wide receivers produce, or Colston Loveland , who turned into a monster late in his rookie season.”

“Loveland is the consensus TE3 for 2026 fantasy drafts behind only Brock Bowers and Trey McBride .”

“Neither should be drafted this high. Last season, McBride averaged 18.6 PPR points per game, and Bowers averaged 15.5 in 2024, the better season of his two years in the NFL.”

“Everyone loves receiving a well-considered offer; nobody likes being offered a mediocre tight end when they already have Brock Bowers.”