James Cook
vs Jeremiyah Love

“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.”

“Scoring less than 10 minutes into his professional debut, it seemed as if Love would instantly be living up to the pre-season hype and hefty draft capital that had been placed on him by the fantasy community…but almost as soon as Arizona’s new #4 found the end zone… Tyler Allgeier decided to play the villain and out-touched Love on his debut, 17 carries to 11. Ok, maybe we are just letting the newbie find his feet; we don’t want to throw him into the deep end too early…right? Well, kinda.”

“Unfortunately, a bell-cow role for Love might not be on the horizon, either. Mike LaFleur’s explanation for keeping Allgeier on the field for the game’s final drive voiced trust in Allgeier’s pass protection. However, Love also mentioned the team having a plan to manage his workload.”

“The Ballers are convinced of Jeremiyah Love ’s breakout for this season, but Love’s dynasty stock is back on track after taking a slight dip in the first two weeks of the season.”

“Be Patient with Rookie RBs Jeremiyah Love played 55 snaps to Allgeier’s 31, but the touches were much more lopsided: 26 to six. Allgeier still handled passing-down work, particularly pass protection, but received just two carries. Love getting five carries on the opening drive also tells us ARI wanted him involved immediately.”

“Two games into his NFL career, Jeremiyah Love’s usage has been absolutely nothing to write home about. He has been out-carried by Tyler Allgeier 22 to 20. That’s not too surprising, but what is borderline shocking is that the boring veteran has run more routes than the dynamic rookie, 32 to 23.”

“Love has yet to see more than 13 touches or top 13 PPR points in a game.”

“We were unsure if Love was going to start in Game 1, and if he did, what would his role look like alongside veteran RB Tyler Allgeier ? After their win against the Los Angeles Chargers , it looks like the team will take a conservative approach with Love. He had 11 carries for 41 yards, caught two targets for nine yards, and hauled in his first NFL TD.”

“As the season goes along, Love will undoubtedly take on more of the workload.”

“Running Backs Rankings & Tiers 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros ECR – Expert Consensus Rankings Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Running Backs Cardinals rookie Jeremiyah Love is expected to play despite a high-ankle sprain sustained in the Cardinals’ preseason opener. Love was electric in that game before the injury. He’s going to be a gem.”

“Unfortunately, Jeremiyah Love was a victim of a rug pull, seeing his touches drop dramatically from Week 3, and that rotation with Tyler Allgeier might stick around longer than we’d hoped. Safe Picks: Tucker Kraft : 13.5 half-PPR points Tetairoa McMillan : 38.2 half-PPR points Jeremiyah Love : 10.9 half-PPR points Week 5 Risky Fantasy Football Starts”