Fantasy Court: The Case For James Cook in 2026 (Fantasy Football)
This article is part of the annual Fantasy Court series. Don’t forget to check out “The Case AGAINST James Cook” for the opposing view.
Opening Statement
Your Honor, my client James Cook has been perennially disrespected to the point of slander. He is coming off a season in which he led the NFL in rushing yards. I can see how this looks: Cook is being drafted as the RB5, and yet he hasn’t hit before. However, before the court of fantasy football hands down its ruling, I believe more context and evidence need to be entered into the record before we sentence Cook to the bust list.
All I ask is that the members of the jury keep an open mind as you consider the following evidence, which will help you reach a just, favorable verdict for James Cook.
Exhibit A: ADP and Proven Production
Since becoming the starter, here are James Cook’s previous fantasy finishes and his ADP:
| Year | ADP | Finish |
| 2023 | RB23 | RB11 |
| 2024 | RB14 | RB8 |
| 2025 | RB13 | RB6 |
| 2026 | RB5 | ? |
As you can see, Cook has outperformed his ADP every season. The only difference in 2026 is that ADP has finally caught up. Since 2015, the RB5 in PPG has averaged 16.4 half-PPR PPG. That is a high bar, but it is not bad news for Cook. Why? Because he has already done it… last season. With that decade of data in mind, all Cook needs to do to return value is play similarly to what he has done over the last two seasons, when he scored 16.8 PPG in 2025 and 15.7 PPG in 2024.
Exhibit B: Availability and Consistency
We have all heard the sayings, “Availability is the best ability” and “consistency is key.” Cook checks both boxes. Since entering the league in 2022, James Cook has only missed one game due to injury. At the RB position, that is remarkable. What may be even more astonishing is that Cook has been an RB1 in half of his games since taking over as the starter in 2023. The only RBs with a higher percentage of RB1 finishes are Christian McCaffrey (70.3%), Derrick Henry (56.9%), Bijan Robinson (54.9%), Kyren Williams (53.3%), and Saquon Barkley (52.2%). That is a higher rate than Jahmyr Gibbs and Jonathan Taylor, both of whom are going ahead of him in drafts.
James Cook led the NFL in 2025 with 11 games of 80+ rushing yards 💯 👀 pic.twitter.com/xa1aiv8ZDv
— Fantasy Footballers (@TheFFBallers) April 15, 2026
Exhibit C: Offensive Environment
The Bills have had some changes over the past season. First, they changed their head coach from Sean McDermott to Joe Brady. Having your offensive coordinator move up to head coach gives me almost no concern that the offense will stray too far from what has been working. With both change-of-pace backs, Ty Johnson and Ray Davis, banged up in practice recently and no real competition added to the backfield, Cook looks primed for another year of crushing it.
I would like to change the focus from James Cook to the Bills offensive line. There is a reason RBs give their o-line gifts when the holidays come around. They are the engine that makes the offense move. Heading into 2026, the Bills offensive line ranks third, according to Warren Sharp. This matters for a few reasons. We want players with great offensive lines because even bad players can look good behind them. Combine a great offensive line with a Second-Team All-Pro like James Cook… now we’re cookin’.
According to NextGenStats, in 2025, only four RBs with 200+ carries saw a stacked box (8+ defenders in the box) at a higher rate than James Cook, who saw a stacked box on 30% of his carries. Cook ranked in the top 10 again in 2024, facing stacked boxes on 21.7% of his rushes. It was a completely different story in 2023. With Stefon Diggs still on the Bills, Cook saw a stacked box on only 10.1% of his runs. Cook had a phenomenal season in 2023. Despite only having two rushing TDs, he still finished as the RB11 in his first year as the Bills’ starting RB.
That brings us to DJ Moore. Moore reunites with his former Carolina OC, Joe Brady, who is now the Bills’ head coach. Buffalo could finally have the WR1 they have been begging for since Diggs left. If Moore is somewhat good (and based on my opposing counsel’s Path to a WR1 Season article, he thinks there is a chance), then we could see a prime James Cook with more running room behind one of the best offensive lines in one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Exhibit D: The Schedule
I am sure the low-hanging fruit will be plucked, so let’s talk about the Bills schedule. Despite having a second-place schedule for the first time in five seasons, they still have the most difficult RB schedule in the entire NFL. It’s bad news, but should we let that dictate everything? Surely not, but I will let you judge, Your Honor.
James Cook:
▪️When Cook rushes for over 100 yards, the Bills are 8-1
▪️When he rushes for UNDER 100 yards, the Bills are 3-4
*Fumbles*
▪️When Cook fumbles, the Bills are 3-1
(Oddly enough he’s fumbled twice in 2 games the Bills are 2-0 in those games— PIT & CIN) https://t.co/RdX9VGB6d6— Circling The Wagons Podcast (@CTWpod) January 8, 2026
We’ve seen the Bills with a winning record for seven straight seasons. I bring this up because Cook’s stats are much better in games that the Bills win. Right now, their Vegas line is at 10.5 wins. The schedule is certainly tougher, but Vegas doesn’t expect the wheels to fall off for the Bills, and neither do I. I’m not sure the difficult strength of schedule is enough to convict Cook of being drafted too high.
Closing Argument
Members of the jury, the evidence shows that James Cook deserves to be drafted in the first round as the RB5, right where the Ballers have him as a consensus. In fact, you would be lucky to have him on your team. I rest my case. Now, let’s hear the jury’s verdict in the comments below.