James Cook Week 1 Outlook - Cardinals at Bills

By Derek Brown (FantasyPros), Wed, Sep 4th 2024, 8:38pm EDT

Last season, in Weeks 11-18, with Joe Brady as the offensive coordinator, Cook was the RB11, averaging 19.6 touches and 104.3 total yards per game. Yes, he only played more than 60% of the snaps twice during that stretch, but it didn't matter. After Week 10, he was 16th in target share (11.4%) among 34 qualifying backs while also ranking 10th in TPRR, fourth in receiving yards per game, and second in YPRR. In those final seven games, among 44 qualifying backs, Cook wasn't spectacular in tackle-breaking metrics, ranking 24th in missed tackles forced per attempt and 43rd in yards after contact per attempt. He was quite good on gap runs (59.8% of his carries), ranking 12th in gap yards per carry and gap success rate. Cook should have a successful Week 1 against an Arizona run defense that allowed the most rushing yards per game and the eighth-highest explosive run rate while logging the third-lowest stuff rate. They also struggled to defend gap runs, giving up the eighth-highest gap yards per carry and the ninth-highest gap success rate. Cook is an RB2 that could produce like an RB1.