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Bills-Ravens Fantasy: James Cook Concern; Bench Mark Andrews

The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens should produce a high-scoring game Sunday. Not everyone will be a fantasy football standout, though.
Bills Ravens Fantasy

The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens feature no shortage of fantasy football star power as they prepare to face off on Sunday Night Football. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson should put on quite a show as two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks battle in the prime-time spotlight.

While the result should be numerous standout fantasy performances, there are notable names on both sides that may not join the point-scoring bonanza. Few things are more frustrating than seeing a game approach 60 total points only for your fantasy player to barely crack the stat sheet.

Let’s analyze one star from each AFC team that may struggle to live up to expectations on Sunday night. Kickoff from M&T Bank Stadium is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Bills-Ravens Fantasy Football Key Storylines (Week 4)

Buffalo: Downgrade James Cook Despite Red-Hot Start

Cook rebounded from a poor training camp to open the regular season on a heater. The 25-year-old Miami native has tallied 285 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns through three games. He’s been a major beneficiary of the Bills’ more balanced offensive approach.

There are some reasons for concern in the underlying numbers, though. Most notably, it’s hard to rely on that level of touchdown production over an entire season. Only two non-quarterbacks—the San Francisco 49ers‘ Christian McCaffrey and Miami Dolphins‘ Raheem Mostert—scored more than 15 total TDs in 2023. Neither of them had a mobile QB like Allen stealing red-zone carries.

In addition, Cook has only played 53 percent of Buffalo’s offensive snaps so far. It was a modest 61 percent in a close Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals, so the low number isn’t merely because the Bills blew out their last two opponents. He had a 55 percent snap share last season.

Although backups Ty Johnson and Ray Davis have produced middling results, their involvement is consistent. It’ll prevent Cook from becoming a high-volume, bell-cow running back.

So, you have a rusher whose production is outpacing their role. He now faces a Ravens defense that leads the league in rushing yards allowed per game (50.0) and per carry (2.8).

Does that mean Cook should be on the fantasy bench? Probably not. Unless a manager is in an incredibly shallow league or hit the jackpot drafting RBs, there simply isn’t enough depth at the position to leave someone with his upside out of the lineup.

That said, it’s best not the expect RB1 fantasy production from the Bills’ starter on Sunday.

Baltimore: It’s Time to Bench Mark Andrews

One of the biggest mistakes fantasy managers make is sticking with their early draft picks too long. It’s understandable, of course. In Andrews’ case, he required a fourth- or fifth-round pick. You want return on that investment. Sometimes the production just isn’t there and you have to move on, though.

Watch: Is Mark Andrews a Buy or a Lemon? And More Trade Targets

The underlying metrics suggest that may be the case with the Ravens tight end. He’s amassed just eight targets through three games. His playing time is also moving rapidly in the wrong direction:

  • Week 1: 74 percent snap share
  • Week 2: 63 percent
  • Week 3: 33 percent

Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh didn’t suggest a reversal of those numbers was guaranteed, either. He discussed Andrews’ role after Sunday’s win over the Dallas Cowboys.

“It’s probably going to be a part of the gameplan each week—and a lot of it is how the game goes, too,” Harbaugh told reporters. “But Mark did what he was asked to do in the game—it just turned out that way. It wasn’t like he wasn’t on the pass routes—he could’ve been thrown the ball; it just didn’t come his way. The blocks came his way. He was out there blocking those guys, and he did a great job.”

Yikes. It’s hard to have much confidence in his fantasy outlook when his coach is praising the work he did as a blocker. It also doesn’t help the roster features a younger pass-catching tight end in Isaiah Likely, who’s earned a bigger role.

Make no mistake: Andrews is going to have some nice fantasy performances before season’s end. He’ll find the end zone a few times, and maybe he’ll even have one or two strong outings that hearken back to his days as a top-tier fantasy football weapon.

His days as an every-week must-start fantasy player are seemingly over, though. That could change if Likely gets hurt. He’s a risky option until proven otherwise, however.

The Ravens are going to lean as heavily as possible on their rushing attack against the Bills. Andrews belongs on the bench in Week 4 as a result.

Main Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Tim Daniels

Tim Daniels

Tim Daniels is a lifelong sports fan who spent much of his youth playing soccer. He transitioned to writing in college and hasn't looked back. He spent 11 years on Bleacher Report's Breaking News Team and helped Topps launch its Ripped collecting website.

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