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James Cook or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Who Should I Start? - Week 1 • Start New
James Cook

James Cook

RB • Buffalo Bills BUF
Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Jacory Croskey-Merritt

RB • Washington Commanders WAS
OR
🔓 EXPERT ANALYSIS

Owners starting Cook over Croskey-Merritt

 
 
 
 
START BOTH START BENCH BOTH BN

Includes Detailed Projections

Learn More
Outlook James Cook

Unquestioned Lead Role and New Coaching Energy Position Buffalo's Workhorse for a Career Year

James Cook enters the season as the undisputed leader of the Bills backfield, sitting comfortably atop the depth chart ahead of backup Ray Davis. After registering a massive 326 carries last season, our models project Cook to remain heavily involved with 267 carries and 1,368 rushing yards. He is poised to thrive under head coach Joe Brady, whose offensive philosophy has injected new energy into Buffalo's attack.

In draft lobbies, Cook's ADP has shown remarkable stability, stubbornly holding at a premium spot of 9.00 in PPR formats. Fantasy managers are eagerly paying this first-round price, recognizing his combination of high-volume rushing and reliable target share. Our projections view this expensive market cost as completely justified, especially with an expected bump to 10 rushing touchdowns.

While his pass-catching numbers may stabilize, his consolidated hold on high-value touches makes him a weekly cornerstone. With a robust own rate of 100%, Cook is a locked-in RB1 who offers a secure weekly floor and championship-winning ceiling.

Updated 10 hrs ago

Latest News James Cook
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🔓 EXPERT ANALYSIS

Owners starting Croskey-Merritt over Cook

 
 
 
 
START BOTH START BENCH BOTH BN

Includes Detailed Projections

Learn More
Outlook Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Washington's Projected Lead Back Offers Major Draft-Day Value

Despite his low-cost perception in drafts, Jacory Croskey-Merritt enters his sophomore season atop Washington's backfield depth chart ahead of Rachaad White. Our projections estimate him leading the team with 157 carries, positioning him for a substantial early-down workload.

We project him to turn those opportunities into 734 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Having averaged an efficient 4.6 yards per carry on 175 attempts as a rookie last year, his efficiency suggests a solid foundational floor.

His draft-day price has settled stably around an ADP of 119 over the past month, slightly down from early June. At this late-round range in PPR formats, the market is pricing him as a bench stash, making him an outstanding value target as a potential starting fantasy asset.

Updated 10 hrs ago

Latest News Jacory Croskey-Merritt
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Next Up ❱ Performance Comparison
Performance James Cook
Fantasy Chart Loading...

ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS TD
0000000
Season stats based on the past 7 days

ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS TD
0000000
Season stats based on the past 14 days
Performance Jacory Croskey-Merritt
Fantasy Chart Loading...

ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS TD
0000000
Season stats based on the past 7 days

ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS TD
0000000
Season stats based on the past 14 days
Next Up ❱ Redzone Touches
Redzone Touches James Cook
REDZONE
WK OPP ATT TAR REC
1 @HOU 🔓 🔓 🔓
2 DET 🔓 🔓 🔓
3 LAC 🔓 🔓 🔓
4 NE 🔓 🔓 🔓
5 @LAR 🔓 🔓 🔓
6 @LV 🔓 🔓 🔓
8 BYE 🔓 🔓 🔓
9 BAL 🔓 🔓 🔓
10 @MIN 🔓 🔓 🔓
11 @NYJ 🔓 🔓 🔓
12 MIA 🔓 🔓 🔓
12 KC 🔓 🔓 🔓
13 @NE 🔓 🔓 🔓
14 @GB 🔓 🔓 🔓
15 CHI 🔓 🔓 🔓
16 @DEN 🔓 🔓 🔓
17 @MIA 🔓 🔓 🔓
18 NYJ 🔓 🔓 🔓
19 🔓 🔓 🔓
20 🔓 🔓 🔓

Redzone data is for premium members only.

Redzone Touches Jacory Croskey-Merritt
REDZONE
WK OPP ATT TAR REC
1 @PHI 🔓 🔓 🔓
2 @DAL 🔓 🔓 🔓
3 SEA 🔓 🔓 🔓
4 IND 🔓 🔓 🔓
5 NYG 🔓 🔓 🔓
6 @SF 🔓 🔓 🔓
7 BYE 🔓 🔓 🔓
8 PHI 🔓 🔓 🔓
9 LAR 🔓 🔓 🔓
10 @NYG 🔓 🔓 🔓
11 CIN 🔓 🔓 🔓
13 @ARI 🔓 🔓 🔓
14 @TEN 🔓 🔓 🔓
15 HOU 🔓 🔓 🔓
16 ATL 🔓 🔓 🔓
17 @MIN 🔓 🔓 🔓
18 @JAC 🔓 🔓 🔓

Redzone data is for premium members only.

Next Up ❱ Own/Start Comparison
OWN/START James Cook
OWN
100%
No change since last week.
START
98%
No change since last week.
OWN/START Jacory Croskey-Merritt
OWN
60%
+1.86 compared to last week
START
 
8%
+0.52 compared to last week
Next Up ❱ Consensus Rankings
Expert Consensus James Cook
4th
Average Ranking of Fantasy Experts
Expert Consensus Jacory Croskey-Merritt
32nd
Average Ranking of Fantasy Experts
Next Up ❱ Player Breakdowns
Breakdown James Cook

    Overview

  • Just about every team utilizies the dreaded 'running backs by comittee' policy. Two solid #1 starters are hard to find.
  • Experts rank this player at 4th among RB's. Based on his stats from the past 30 days, he is currently ranked 4th with 305.30 total points (15.27 avg).
  • Currently 60.3 points behind the leader: Christian McCaffrey
  • Wow, would you look at that. The experts got it right on the money.
  • Average points in the past two weeks have dipped quite a bit at 15.3.

    • Receiving Stats

  • Top 25 in receptions and is currently ranked 24th among RB.
  • Top 35 in targets and is currently ranked 26th among RB.
  • Top 20 in Rec TDs with 2 and is currently ranked 17th among RB.
  • Top 6 in red zone attempts and is currently ranked 6th among RB.

    • Rushing Stats

  • Top 6 in rush attempts with 326 (18.11 per game) and is currently ranked 4th among RB.
  • Top 3 in rush yards with 1737 (96.50 per game) and is currently ranked 1st among RB.
  • Top 6 in rush tds with 13 (0.72 per game) and is currently ranked 5th among RB.

    • Bonus Qualities

  • Played in 3 more games this year than last year.
  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: Rush Yards: +883, Rush AVG: +0.4 Rush TDs: -2, Receptions: +5, Rec Yards: +59 Rec TDs: EVEN,
  • His touches per game on the ground are great.
  • Unfortunately two players have the same exact name and his rating may not be entirely accurate at this point. We are working on fixing situations like this!

    • Season Outlook

  • RUSH ATT: 267, RUSH YDS: 1368, RUSH TDS: 10, REC: 33, REC YDS: 269, REC TDS: 2
Breakdown Jacory Croskey-Merritt

    Overview

  • Just about every team utilizies the dreaded 'running backs by comittee' policy. Two solid #1 starters are hard to find.
  • Experts rank this player at 33rd among RB's. Based on his stats from the past 30 days, he is currently ranked 33rd with 131.30 total points (7.72 avg).
  • Currently 234.3 points behind the leader: Christian McCaffrey
  • Wow, would you look at that. The experts got it right on the money.
  • Average points in the past two weeks have dipped quite a bit at 7.7.

    • Receiving Stats

  • Top 100 in receptions, though that isn't saying much, and is currently ranked 77th among RB.
  • Top 75 in targets, though that isn't saying much, and is currently ranked 71st among RB.
  • Ranked 108th in Rec TDs among RB.

    • Rushing Stats

  • Top 25 in rush attempts with 175 (10.29 per game) and is currently ranked 28th among RB.
  • Top 25 in rush yards with 805 (47.35 per game) and is currently ranked 24th among RB.
  • Top 20 in rush tds with 8 (0.47 per game) and is currently ranked 17th among RB.

    • Bonus Qualities

  • Played in 17 more games this year than last year.
  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: Rush Yards: +805, Rush AVG: +4.6 Rush TDs: +8, Receptions: +9, Rec Yards: +68 Rec TDs: EVEN,

    • Season Outlook

  • RUSH ATT: 157, RUSH YDS: 734, RUSH TDS: 6, REC: 14, REC YDS: 102, REC TDS: 1
Next Up ❱ Health Check
Injury James Cook

No Injury Reported

Injury Jacory Croskey-Merritt

No Injury Reported

Next Up ❱ Matchup Comparison
Matchups James Cook

Week 1
Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans

PA/G YDS/G TO INT SACK TDs FSP
17.32288.1634215664.48
Compare to same point last season

Overview

  • Experts don"t even rank him among DST's. Either he is on a bye week or is just plain bad. Based on his stats from the past 30 days, he is currently ranked 2nd with 196.00 total points (10.32 avg).
  • Currently 31 points behind the leader: Seahawks DST
  • Average points in the past two weeks have dipped quite a bit at 10.3.

Defensive Stats

  • Top 6 in total yards against with 322.06 per game and is currently ranked 5th among DST.
  • Top 4 in turnovers with 29 (1.71 per game) and is currently ranked 3rd among DST.
  • Top 4 in rush defense with 1736 (102.12 per game) and is currently ranked 4th among DST.
  • Top 10 in pass defense with 3739 (219.94 per game) and is currently ranked 10th among DST.
  • Top 8 in sacks with 47 (2.76 per game) and currently ranked 7th among DST.
  • Top 4 in interceptions with 19 (1.12 per game) and currently ranked 3rd among DST.
  • Top 2 in points against with 17.35 per game and currently ranked 2nd among DST.
  • Top 8 in Total TDs with 4 (0.24 per game) and currently ranked 7th among DST.

Bonus Qualities

  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: Total Yards Against: +5.41, Turnovers: +1 Sacks: -7, INTs: -2, TDs: -2, Points Allowed: -3.73,
  • Unfortunately two players have the same exact name and his rating may not be entirely accurate at this point. We are working on fixing situations like this!

Season Outlook

  • SACK: 46, INT: 14, TDS: 3, PA/G: 18.4, YDS/G: 294.6
Matchups Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Week 1
Washington Commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles

PA/G YDS/G TO INT SACK TDs FSP
19.33337.2223144334.18
Compare to same point last season

Overview

  • Experts don"t even rank him among DST's. Either he is on a bye week or is just plain bad. Based on his stats from the past 30 days, he is currently ranked 9th with 132.00 total points (7.33 avg).
  • Currently 95 points behind the leader: Seahawks DST
  • Average points in the past two weeks have dipped quite a bit at 7.3.

Defensive Stats

  • Top 10 in turnovers with 21 (1.24 per game) and is currently ranked 10th among DST.
  • Ranked 22nd in rush defense with 2240 (131.76 per game).
  • Top 12 in pass defense with 3830 (225.29 per game) and is currently ranked 11th among DST.
  • Top 12 in sacks with 42 (2.47 per game) and currently ranked 12th among DST.
  • Top 6 in points against with 19.12 per game and currently ranked 5th among DST.
  • Top 10 in Total TDs with 3 (0.18 per game) and currently ranked 9th among DST.

Bonus Qualities

  • At this point in the season his numbers compared to last years: Total Yards Against: +50.75, Turnovers: -1 Sacks: -7, INTs: +2, TDs: +1, Points Allowed: -1.35,

Season Outlook

  • SACK: 43, INT: 14, TDS: 4, PA/G: 20.3, YDS/G: 333.8
Next Up ❱ Ratings Comparison
Rating James Cook
28.99
FantasySP Player Rating
Rating Jacory Croskey-Merritt
14.81
FantasySP Player Rating
Next Up ❱ Career Comparison
Career James Cook
RUSH RECEIVING
YEAR TEAM GP ATT YD AVG TD TGTS REC YD AVG TD
2022 BUF 16 91 525 5.8 2 33 21 180 8.6 1
2023 BUF 16 237 1122 4.7 2 54 44 445 10.1 4
2024 BUF 16 207 1009 4.9 16 38 32 258 8.1 2
2025 BUF 16 326 1737 5.3 13 43 36 304 8.4 2
3-YEAR AVG 19 286 1427 5 11 50 42 366 8.7 3
Totals 77 1006 5020 5 37 189 151 1306 8.6 9
Career Jacory Croskey-Merritt
RUSH RECEIVING
YEAR TEAM GP ATT YD AVG TD TGTS REC YD AVG TD
2025 WAS 16 175 805 4.6 8 13 9 68 7.6 0
3-YEAR AVG 9 88 403 4.6 4 7 5 34 7.6 0
Totals 17 175 805 4.6 8 13 9 68 7.6 0
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Matchups

Week 1
ARI @LAC
ATL @PIT
BAL @IND
BUF @HOU
CAR vs CHI
CIN vs TB
CLE @JAC
DAL @NYG
DEN @KC
DET vs NO
GB @MIN
LAR vs SF
LV vs MIA
NE @SEA
NYJ @TEN
PHI vs WAS
Matchup Time Pitchers
ARI vs STL 04:10 EDT EST
ATH vs WAS 10:05 EDT EST
ATL vs TEX 04:10 EDT EST
BAL @HOU 04:10 EDT EST
BOS vs TB 04:10 EDT EST
CHC vs MIN 02:20 EDT EST
CHW @TOR 03:07 EDT EST
CIN @COL 03:10 EDT EST
CLE vs PIT 01:10 EDT EST
DET @LAA 10:07 EDT EST
KC vs SD 04:10 EDT EST
LAD @NYY 08:08 EDT EST
MIA @MIL 04:10 EDT EST
NYM @PHI 04:05 EDT EST
SEA vs SF 08:08 EDT EST
Matchup Time
No games scheduled
Matchup Time
No games scheduled