James Cook vs De'Von Achane

“Running back James Cook won the rushing title with 1,621 yards, but in PFF's view, Torrence didn't help his cause.”

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

“The counter to this would be that Josh Allen is coming off his lowest passing yardage total since 2019 (3,668), and hasn't thrown for more than 30 touchdowns in the last three seasons. However, the Bills seem positive their offense will take a step forward this year with the addition of DJ Moore under new head coach Joe Brady. That remains to be seen.”

“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.”

“James Cook was faded at ADP 39 with a 20% win rate and 71% top 6% finish, and the verdict was Wrong.”

“In 2024, James Cook dominated, scoring 16 touchdowns and rushing for 1,009 yards, and in 2025 he recorded 1,621 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. However, the counter to this consistency would be that Josh Allen is coming off his lowest passing yardage total since 2019 (3,668), and hasn't thrown for more than 30 touchdowns in the last three seasons.”

“Cook profiled as a high-upside pass-catcher out of the backfield when he entered the league in 2022, but that upside never materialized, as he has averaged just 41 targets per season over his first four years.”

“The counter to this would be that Josh Allen is coming off his lowest passing yardage total since 2019 (3,668), and hasn't thrown for more than 30 touchdowns in the last three seasons. However, the Bills seem positive their offense will take a step forward this year with the addition of DJ Moore under new head coach Joe Brady. That remains to be seen. If it does happen, and the team scores more passing touchdowns and moves the ball better, could it come at the expense of Cook's ceiling?”

“If you spent $70 on running back but somehow came away with James Cook and De'Von Achane (which is a bit under our current dollar value calculator), that could be just fine.”

“With Josh Allen still leading one of the NFL's highest-scoring offenses and the offensive line remaining strong, Cook's floor remains extremely high. The hosts also discussed the possibility that Buffalo could finally unlock more of Cook's receiving upside under new leadership, especially given his pass-catching pedigree coming out of Georgia.”

“Despite back-to-back productive seasons, James Cook continues to be viewed skeptically in fantasy circles, but the FantasyPros analysts argued that Cook keeps answering every concern fantasy managers throw at him. After many predicted touchdown regression entering last season, Cook still delivered elite production while expanding his rushing workload.”

“He has improved every season of his career, totaling at least 1,000 rushing yards in three consecutive years, including an NFL and career-high 1,621 in 2025. More importantly, Cook is one of six running backs to average 16 or more PPR fantasy points per game in each of the past two seasons.”

“We would be kidding ourselves if we didn't consider Achane to be the centerpiece of the Dolphins' offense and our fantasy rosters. Stacking this receiving production on top of the leader of 40+ yard rushes since 2023 feels like cheating, but because of this, he will be the highest-scoring Dolphin for fantasy this year.”

“Achane is certainly talented enough to overcome these obstacles, but the concerns around him aren't factored into his early second-round average draft position (ADP). I'm not projecting him to fall into RB3 territory, but an RB2 finish is certainly plausible, which would be a major disappointment.”

“I was high on De'Von Achane last season, and I still expect him to get a ton of usage. Repeating his 2025 season, however, feels a bit lofty. The massive season came under Mike McDaniel's offense, which featured one of the league's most creative rushing attacks. McDaniel is now in Los Angeles as the Chargers' offensive coordinator.”

“This season, Malik Willis is slated to be under center for Miami. He's a dual-threat passer who will take away some of Achane's receiving opportunities when he decides to tuck it and run. If Achane gets roughly 75-80% of the targets he's been getting, he'll be a fine second-round selection. But if the receptions plummet, he'll be hard-pressed to pay off his fantasy football ADP.”

“De'Von Achane is currently going just outside of round one with an ADP of 15.5, but that has more to do with uncertainty around his offensive environment than his talent. Since 2024, Achane has amassed 145 receptions for 1,080 yards and 10 scores through the air. In 2025, 43.3% of Achane's fantasy points came via receiving. In 2024, it was an absurd 57.8%.”

“De'Von Achane has been terrific throughout his NFL career, but when Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill weren't on the field, Achane saw significant target share increases (14.8%, 18.4%, and 15.6% respectively). However, with the Dolphins having almost no receiving talent besides Achane and a new quarterback in Malik Willis who saw limited time as a starter, a top-five result might be a bit lofty despite his expected volume.”

“Miami RBs Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II are competing for time as De'Von Achane's primary backup.”

“As for his first impression of HC Jeff Hafley, Achane said he's noticing the relationships he's building with their entire roster. "Great coach. This is my first time having a head coach that's a defensive guy, so I'm always telling him like, OK, get on the defensive side of the ball, but he's a great coach, man. You see now the relationships he's building, he's trying to get to know everybody."”

“Achane mentioned on a podcast that he doesn't have time to be on a rebuilding team. He explained he can't have the mindset that they are going to "lose every game." "As a football player that's a competitor, the rebuild phrase for me it's like, OK, they're basically saying we're going out here to lose every game."”

“Achane signed a four-year, $64MM extension in May. Brewer's work helped Achane to a career-best season.”

“Achane has been a fantasy star because of his role in the passing game, totaling at least 67 receptions in back-to-back years. The Bills gave up the sixth-most PPR fantasy points per game to running backs last season, including 56.6 to Achane in two matchups.”

“If you spent $70 on running back but somehow came away with James Cook and De'Von Achane (which is a bit under our current dollar value calculator), that could be just fine.”