James Cook helped lead a lot of fantasy football managers to league championships in 2023 with a breakout season that included over 1,500 yards from scrimmage and six total touchdowns. Now the question is what can he do for an encore?
Cook is joined in the Buffalo Bills backfield by Ty Johnson, Darrynton Evans, and a pair of rookies, Ray Davis and Frank Gore Jr. While those four backs will compete for placement on the depth chart, they aren’t a threat to the third-year rising star’s featured role.
The Bills offense saw a lot of offseason changes. That bodes well for Cook’s involvement in 2024. Exactly how high he can climb the running back fantasy rankings is a point of contention, though.
Bills Running Backs 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook
James Cook
Cook finished as the No. 45 overall player and the 11th-ranked running back in PPR leagues last season, per Pro Football Reference. That represented a major jump after he ended up as the RB45 during his 2022 rookie campaign.
That massive year-over-year improvement combined with the departure of wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis from the Buffalo passing game has some fantasy minds thinking big for the University of Georgia product this season.
Unfortunately, there’s a problem: Josh Allen.
The Bills MVP candidate quarterback is a touchdown vulture. He scored 15 rushing touchdowns last season and has 53 scores on the ground in six NFL seasons. So, while Cook has the skill set to potentially contend as the No. 1 running back in fantasy football, the lack of consistent touchdowns is likely to prevent him from truly entering that conversation.
In addition, Davis and Gore are hard-nosed, between-the-tackles rushers. Cook’s goal-line touches may be significantly hampered if they both make the final 53-man roster.
His upside is still immense and the volume of touches makes him a safe fantasy choice. That’s especially true at his current ADP of 41.4, according to Yahoo Fantasy. So you only have to invest a fourth-round pick to get him in standard 12-team leagues.
Anyone expecting another major leap toward RB1 status may be disappointed. Cook remains a potential league-winning choice in 2024, though.
2024 Projection: 238 points (RB10)
Ty Johnson
No other member of the Bills backfield deserves a roster spot in standard leagues at this stage. If Cook gets injured, the touches would be spread out evenly and Allen would continue to gobble up most of the rushing touchdowns, so there isn’t a ton of value there.
That said, Johnson is a safe bet to make the Buffalo roster and could attract interest in deep PPR leagues (16+ teams) because of his pass-catching ability.
The 26-year-old journeyman played a limited role last season. He tallied just 37 touches for 194 yards and one score. The departures of Latavius Murray and Damien Harris should open up a more defined role, though.
Johnson should be the go-to third-down back in situations where Cook is off the field. He filled a similar role for the New York Jets in 2021. He recorded 34 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns through the air that season. It’s modest production, but hints at his ability to fill the role.
Meanwhile, he won’t play a major role on the ground, but he’s averaged a solid 4.4 yards per carry across his five NFL seasons.
Ray Davis/Frank Gore Jr./Darrynton Evans
Davis is the favorite to serve as the main rushing backup to Cook. He was taken in the third round of the 2024 draft. Gore was an undrafted free-agent signing. The outlook is similar for either back regardless of who wins that reserve role, though.
Simply put, there won’t be enough touches to gain fantasy relevance. Four running backs not named Cook received carries for the Bills last season. They accounted for only 144 total carries, or just 8.5 per week.
Davis is the most intriguing option if Cook gets injured because he showed the ability to handle a three-down role in college. He posted 1,452 total yards and 21 total touchdowns at Kentucky in 2023. Alas, that volume won’t be there in Buffalo barring a rash of injuries.
As for Evans, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where he enters the fantasy conversation in 2024. The Bills would likely dip into the free-agent market for a veteran should the injury bug hit that hard.
Main Image: Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK
