James Cook vs Drake London

“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.”

“London was on a tear before a PCL injury blunted his momentum and his statistical finish to the season. He topped 100 yards receiving in five out of nine games to start the season before the injury, then had 109 yards and a touchdown combined over the final three after he returned.”

“London was on his way to another stellar season in 2025 before a PCL injury in Week 11 derailed him, limiting him to 12 games. On a per-game basis, London averaged 5.7 receptions (WR8) for 76.6 yards (WR7) with 7 touchdowns.”

“London was cooking last year before a PCL injury derailed his season in Week 11. In Weeks 1-10 last year, London was the WR6 in fantasy points per game. During that stretch, he was fourth in target share (30.3%), fourth in receiving yards per game (86.4), sixth in yards per route run (2.74), fifth in first-read share (37.6%), and seventh in first downs per route run (0.135, per Fantasy Points Data).”

“If London had a legitimate quarterback, we could draft him higher, but instead, he'll once again have to deal with mediocrity in the form of Tua Tagovailoa or Penix. London is a fine selection in round two, but look elsewhere here.”

“Over the first 10 weeks of 2025, London was the fantasy WR6, but with the Falcons stuttering and Michael Penix Jr. injured, he dropped to WR25 for the rest of the season. London has topped a 28% target share in three of his four NFL seasons. We know he'll draw targets, but it's their value that matters here.”

“London will now be under contract through the 2030 season. He's topped 100 catches and 1000 yards once (2024) in his four-year career. He finished as the WR7 and WR14 the last two seasons in fantasy points per game (half-ppr).”

“Branch's ability with the ball in his hands should guarantee him at least some role right away in an Atlanta offense without much talent at wideout outside of Drake London.”

“Top cap hit: Drake London, $7,996,200 (2.65 percent)”

“Atlanta now employs the NFL's third-highest-paid players at tight end and wide receiver, with London scoring a four-year, $141.1MM extension earlier this month.”

“Drake London is set to anchor the Falcons' receiver room once again in 2026 and well into the future.”

“The Falcons signed WR Drake London to a long-term extension with a new-money average of $35.26 million per year and a total five-year base value of $157.88 million, including a $33.656 million signing bonus and fully guaranteed compensation through the first two years of the deal.”