After a narrow victory over the New York Giants, the Buffalo Bills look to perform better in their Week 7 matchup with the New England Patriots. In order to do that, they will need some major positive contributions from their key offensive players, including running back James Cook.
Fantasy Football analysis: TBills RB James Cook
In his second NFL season, Cook has taken control of the Bills’ backfield. Backups Latavius Murray and Damien Harris still see a handful of touches, but Cook has roughly as many carries as those two running backs and quarterback Josh Allen combined. Cook even factors into the offense as a pass catcher with 14 catches for 140 yards on 18 targets heading into Week 7.
As for this week’s matchup, the Patriots rank in the middle of the pack when it comes to fantasy points allowed to running backs. With Cook getting the lion’s share of the carries, another quality fantasy outing seems eminently attainable.
Start or sit in Week 7 PPR leagues?
Start. Depending on the number of teams in one’s fantasy league, Cook will either serve as a low-end RB1 or a high-end RB2 in PPR formats. As explained above, the workload looks strong enough that the second-year back should deliver the goods for fantasy managers this weekend.
Start or sit in Week 7 standard leagues?
Start. The same calculation applies in standard formats. Cook expects to see as many touches this week as anyone on the Bills’ roster not named Stefon Diggs. Barring a weird game, Cook should do just fine.
Player(s) you would start ahead of James Cook
DKN NFL Editor Chet Gresham suggests starting the Miami Dolphins’ Raheem Mostert or the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley over Cook. But realistically, virtually all fantasy managers with access to Cook and any of those players will start both.
