James Cook vs Jahmyr Gibbs

“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.”

“Jahmyr Gibbs has never finished with fewer than 11 touchdowns in any of his three seasons and has caught no fewer than 52 passes.”

“Before splitting the backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs , who is currently the highest-paid running back in the league, Montgomery handled more than 200 carries in each of his first five NFL seasons.”

“Fantasy Football Research & Advice Fantasy Football Expert Rankings 2026 Fantasy Football Draft Kit Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Pick 1.04 Players to Consider at 1.04 Fantasy Football Draft Pick These players will likely be available when you make your selection: Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN) Puka Nacua (WR – LAR) Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA) Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF) It’s fair to assume at least one of Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs will be gone, if not both, as they’re the consensus top two picks.”

“The Case for Jahmyr Gibbs The fantasy arc for Gibbs is quite similar to Robinson’s.”

“Jahmyr Gibbs (WR – DET) Another young running back who has seen things clear out behind him is Jahmyr Gibbs, who saw David Montgomery move on, and only Isiah Pacheco was brought in.”

“Jahmyr Gibbs averaged 21.7 PPG last year on 17.8 xFP, despite the presence of David Montgomery and his 9.3 xFP. That’s a remarkably impressive result, given it wasn’t a particularly impressive year for the Lions or for Gibbs as a rusher. I view the downgrade from David Montgomery — a serviceable player who was also a cultural leader — to Isiah Pacheco as steep, and far wider than the drop off from Tyler Allgeier to Brian Robinson .”

“Andy’s pick at the 1.01 is fairly straightforward with Jahmyr Gibbs . Gibbs presents tremendous upside in an offense that fantasy managers have grown to trust with one of the best schedules in the league.”

“Fantasy Football Sleepers: Running Backs Running Backs Team ECR ADP Isiah Pacheco DET 48 49 Alvin Kamara NO 47 47 Keaton Mitchell LAC 49 56 Sean Tucker TB 58 61 Dylan Sampson CLE 50 52 Emmett Johnson KC 62 54 Emanuel Wilson SEA 57 73 Demond Claiborne MIN 69 70 Tank Bigsby PHI 54 57 Seth McGowan IND 89 96 Isiah Pacheco lands with the Lions as the change-of-pace back/handcuff for Jahmyr Gibbs.”

“4 | Diff: +4 Isiah Pacheco lands with the Lions as the change-of-pace back/handcuff for Jahmyr Gibbs .”

“The RB1 Debate The Bijan Robinson vs Jahmyr Gibbs debate has been discussed multiple times on recent shows, but the consensus is that both RBs are clearly above the rest of the field.”

“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.”

“In a standard league, getting a running back such as Jahmyr Gibbs, who will handle well over 200 carries and catch the ball a bunch, was a no-brainer after Bijan Robinson went off the board.”