James Cook vs Chase Brown

“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.”

“In a PPR league, James Cook is the pick. He led the league in rushing in 2025 and in touchdowns in 2024, so the volume is there and will continue to be in 2026 with Joe Brady at head coach.”

“With the Bills' offense under Joe Brady never finding a dominant receiver, Cook has had to stand up and lead the offense, and there's no reason to think that can't continue this season. While the passing offense will be spread around, Cook remains the safest and strongest bet outside of Josh Allen.”

“Cook caught just 33 passes on 40 targets despite a career-high 1,621 rushing yards. A quick glance at Cook's career confirms that Buffalo is comfortable forcing passing targets elsewhere, as during his four seasons with the Bills, Cook surpassed 35 receptions just once.”

“The Bills featured James Cook as a bell cow, leaving Davis little opportunity to provide fantasy relevance.”

“Top-12 Drafted RBs in 2025 RB 2025 ADP 2024 Finish 2025 Games Played Bijan Robinson RB1 RB3 17 Saquon Barkley RB2 RB13 16 Jahmyr Gibbs RB3 RB4 17 Christian McCaffrey RB4 RB1 17 Derrick Henry RB5 RB7 17 Ashton Jeanty RB6 RB12 17 Josh Jacobs RB7 RB15 15 De’Von Achane RB8 RB6 16 Jonathan Taylor RB9 RB2 17 Bucky Irving RB10 RB33 10 Chase Brown RB11 RB8 17 Kyren Williams RB12 RB9 17 2025 RB Health Last season, nine out of 12 top RBs drafted finished as an RB1, resulting in a mostly chalky season at the top for RBs.”

“Fantasy Football Trends to Know Chase Brown (RB – CIN) Unfortunately, the Bengals’ offense fell apart when Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury early in the year. Thankfully, it improved after the team traded for Joe Flacco .”

“If the Bengals do have any spike in rushing scores, that is more fire to a surging Chase Brown this summer. Brown played 73.9% of the snaps in the red zone, which was RB5 on the season.”

“Still, Brown may be one of the few backs who can finish in the top five this season.”

“Round 2: Chase Brown (RB – CIN) Chase Brown was the counter-pick, viewed internally as a true first-round talent despite a far lower market price. The comparison drawn is directly to James Cook : all it takes is the offense clicking and staying healthy for Chase Brown to replicate what Buffalo got out of Cook two seasons ago.”

“Let's say you spend an early draft pick on Chase Brown. Some fantasy managers believe that if you draft Brown, you should also draft his primary backup, Samaje Perine. But Perine has no stand-alone value and would be nothing more than an insurance policy—and probably a bad one, since Perine would have a hard time matching Brown's numbers even if he inherited Brown's volume.”

“With all the changes this offseason, one thing has remained consistent: Chase Brown is their lead back. On a flailing Bengals team last season, Brown finished as the fantasy RB8. Currently being drafted as the RB10, there is plenty of upside.”

“One of my concerns for rostering Chase Brown was, "are they going to add another running back?" The concerns were squashed when they didn't add anyone through free agency or the draft. With the backfield all to himself, Brown feels like an extremely safe pick. From Week 6 on, Brown was the RB7, averaging 17.3 FPPG and 100 total yards per game.”

“Chase Brown proved he was far more than just an early-down runner in 2025. His 0.23 Targets Per Route Run ranked seventh among all running backs, placing him alongside elite receiving backs like Jahmyr Gibbs, De'Von Achane, Christian McCaffrey, and Bijan Robinson.”

“Brown has been a revelation ever since emerging from his quiet rookie season. After handling just 58 touches with one touchdown in 2023, he has scored 22 touchdowns across the past two seasons. Brown finished inside the top 10 in target share among running backs last season, which is impressive enough considering he has Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to compete against for targets.”

“We already know that Joe Burrow has eyes for Chase/Higgins/Chase Brown, and everything leftover goes to Mike Gesicki.”

“Chase Brown possesses explosive traits, though he is an incumbent Bengals starter with the team already having younger talent in the backfield.”