James Cook vs Nico Collins

“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.”

“A healthy Nico Collins will also be a huge factor, as the connection between those two has consistently elevated Stroud's efficiency and touchdown production since coming into the league.”

“At worst, Collins profiles as a reliable fantasy WR1/WR2 hybrid with one of the strongest WR efficiency profiles in the NFL.”

“Nico Collins continued his run as Houston's unquestioned WR1 in 2025, posting his third 1,000-yard season in the last four years while finishing as a top-10 fantasy receiver once again. Despite battling injuries, Collins remained highly efficient and continued to dominate targets and red-zone usage in the Texans offense.”

“The Texans have a lot of passing game weapons, but outside of Schultz and Nico Collins, none of them are very good at all.”

“On the flip side, what if you have Nico and got a value on Jacobs (as his ADP free-falls thanks to off-field issues)? Montgomery would make more sense there for the stack-and-run back correlation.”

“Nico Collins' ADP is essentially one round behind his ECR in a 12-team league, with a 66% gap between his ADP and ECR that trails only Ja'Marr Chase. Although he has been "just" a back-end fantasy WR1 over the last two years, the 27-year-old is a genuine top-tier talent at the position, ranking seventh, second and fifth among qualified receivers in Pro Football Focus receiving grade over the last three seasons.”

“Nico Collins was discussed as a receiver whose combination of physical traits and offensive role keeps him firmly in the upper fantasy conversation. The analysis focused heavily on his ability to command targets while also producing explosive plays. There was a sense throughout the discussion that Collins has moved beyond simply being a breakout candidate and now belongs in the tier of receivers fantasy managers can trust weekly.”

“Collins saw a career-high 120 targets in 2025. Furthermore, he had six receiving touchdowns after totaling 15 over the previous two years.”

“Top cap hit: Nico Collins, $14,939,529 (4.96 percent)”

“Houston will head into training camp later this month with back-to-back Pro Bowler Nico Collins continuing to lead its receiving corps. Stroud has formed a strong connection with Collins, a 1,000-yard receiver three years in a row.”

“Nico Collins has since received a raise as part of the Texans' changes to their wide receiver room.”

“Coming off a rough stretch to end the year, Texans WR Nico Collins outlined the different mindset from QB C.J. Stroud. "Different guy, different dude, man on a mission," Collins said. "Man, he's ready to hunt."”