Tag: James Cook

Bills’ RB James Cook: ‘When you come back home, you always gotta put on a show’

#Bills’ RB James Cook: ‘When you come back home, you always gotta put on a show’

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook had a homecoming party live on national television Thursday night for the world to see. Well, anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription.

The Miami, Florida native amassed three total touchdowns en route to a Bills blowout win at Hard Rock Stadium, and he did so in front of about 40 members of friends and family.

In a postgame interview Thursday night, Cook was asked what it was like to have such a big game, and here is what he had to say:

Along with two rushing touchdowns and another touchdown through the air, Cook ran the ball 11 times for 78 yards and added 17 yards receiving. Cook’s two rushing touchdowns in the game matched his previous career-high for a season, and his three first-half touchdowns tied a Bills record.

Lucky No. 3: James Cook gets third TD vs. Dolphins for Bills (video)

Cook be cooking:

James Cook… Cooking.

The Buffalo Bills enter halftime against the Miami Dolphins with a 24-10 lead. The Bills’ Pro Bowl running back is having a gem of a game.

Not one, not two, but three touchdowns for Cook in the first half alone against the Dolphins.

Cook’s third, a 49-yard rush down the right side of the field, can be found in the clip below:

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Bills’ James Cook scores on fourth-down catch vs. Dolphins (video)

#Bills’ James Cook scores on fourth-down catch vs. #Dolphins (video):

James Cook made a house call on the first drive of the game for the Buffalo Bills against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.

On fourth down in Dolphins’ territory, Buffalo decided to get bold. On a fourth-and-3, the Bills kept their offense on the field.

Quarterback Josh Allen found running James Cook wide open in the flat to the left. From there, Cook did the rest of the work to give his team the early 7-0 lead.

Check out the score below:

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FOX Sports’ Emmanuel Acho: ‘This feels like a Josh Allen MVP year’

FOX Sports’ Emmanuel Acho: ‘This feels like a Josh Allen MVP year’

After seeing Josh Allen throw for two touchdowns, run for two touchdowns, and bring his team back from a 14-point deficit in Week 1’s 34-28 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Emmanuel Acho of Fox Sports said that it “feels like a Josh Allen MVP year.” 

Acho, a current NFL MVP voter, was left in awe at the performance of the Bills’ QB1.

“To me, Josh Allen wasn’t just the most impressive player on the field… he was the most impressive player in the National Football League [in Week 1] … when you think about the most valuable player in football, it’s not just ‘what do you do for yourself’, but ‘what do you do for everybody around you,’” Acho said.

Acho’s main reason for bringing Allen into the MVP conversation so early in the year is because of the way he elevates the play of his teammates, mentioning the fact that Allen elevated the game of Mack Hollins, Keon Coleman, and James Cook in the win.

“This feels like one of those Josh Allen elevation years,” Acho said about Allen lifting those around him.

We have seen this in the past, with Allen elevating the performance of guys like John Brown, Cole Beasley, Stefon Diggs, and Gabe Davis. Not to mention former teammates such as Robert Foster and Isaiah McKenzie, who Allen helped become serviceable players while on the Bills and then they couldn’t find stable production after leaving.

Acho is onto something. And he is most likely late to the party. The Bills have been witnessing Allen elevate his teammates dating back to the upset over the Minnesota Vikings in his rookie year.

The chips seem to be aligning for Allen in his seventh season: Diggs is gone which means the narrative for many now is that Allen will put the offense on his back (which he has already been doing), Joe Brady looks to be a stable play-caller who trusts Allen and gives him plenty of say in the offense, and this year the Bills have arguably the most depth at the skill positions in Allen’s tenure.

Allen got off to a hot start in Week 1 and it got a lot of people buzzing, but if he can go on the road to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and put on a show during a win, then the MVP talks will be undeniable.

Here is the full clip of Acho praising Allen:

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PFF: Bills’ James Cook named a 2024 ‘fantasy football league winner’

PFF: #Bills’ James Cook named a 2024 ‘fantasy football league winner’

This is the year to invest in James Cook, according to Pro Football Focus.

The football analytics outlet named five “league winners” for the upcoming fantasy football and NFL season. Cook’s name appears.

Fresh off his first season as a Pro Bowler in 2023, Cook could be a big piece in fantasy football leagues this year. Especially since Joe Brady was named Buffalo’s full-time offensive coordinator.

When Brady took over for Ken Dorsey last season in the middle of the year, he had a new-found commitment to the rushing attack which Cook benefited from.

But the one concern Cook owners might have would be with his touchdown totals. Could fourth-round rookie Ray Davis cut into Cook’s totals?

PFF’s full fantasy football breakdown on Cook can be found below:

Cook flashed versatility in his second season, playing well on gap/zone plays and excelling on non-perfectly blocked plays and against eight-man boxes. He has been particularly good at breaking off longer runs, although they haven’t led to touchdowns.

The Georgia product took major steps forward in his utilization from his rookie year to his sophomore campaign, playing significantly more snaps in every situation while receiving the ball roughly the same amount while he was on the field.

Latavius Murray and Damien Harris were his primary competition early in the 2023 season, but neither is on the 2024 roster. Buffalo signed Leonard Fournette in the middle of the season, but he ended up playing only 26 snaps. Ty Johnson has been mostly a receiving back in his NFL career and could have that role again, while fourth-rounder Ray Davis may also factor in.

The big question for Cook is what his goal-line work will look like. He ran the ball four times when the Bills were within four yards of scoring last season, which isn’t nearly enough. The other Bills running backs had 13 such carries. Davis may get those carries in 2024, given his size. The bigger problem is dual-threat quarterback Josh Allen, who ran 15 times in those situations. Ideally, Cook will get more goal-line carries, but even if he doesn’t, we should expect similar touchdown production to last season, if not better with more breakaway runs for touchdowns.

The Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey following Week 10 of 2023, and Joe Brady took over. That corresponds closely to when Cook started receiving the ball more often. He averaged 12 carries and 2.4 receptions per game in 2023 with Dorsey and 17 carries and 3.1 receptions per game with Brady.

Cook finished at RB12 last season, in part thanks to his ability to stay healthy, but several factors, including less veteran competition, the offensive coordinator change, continuity on the offensive line and the Bills not being as strong, all point to Cook seeing more opportunities this season.

 

Fantasy football: Where to draft Buffalo Bills RB James Cook

Analyzing Buffalo Bills RB James Cook’s 2024 fantasy football ADP and where to target him in fantasy drafts.

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Buffalo Bills RB James Cook had a breakout campaign last year in just his 2nd NFL season. After playing as mostly and RB2 his rookie year, Cook took over RB1 duties for Buffalo in 2023 and showed out, more than doubling both his rushing and receiving yards compared to his rookie campaign. Below, we look at James Cooks’ 2024 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.

Entering 2024, Cook is expected to continue to be a very good RB1 for the Bills and will look to become even more of a focal point for a Buffalo offense that lost a lot of talent in the offseason. After bursting onto the scene last year, fans can expect to see Cook continue to improve and be a safety net for the Bills and QB Josh Allen.

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James Cook’s ADP: 44.55

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

Cook’s ADP in redraft leagues places him in the range of the 4th to 6th round depending on the size of the league. Cook’s ADP has him just slightly behind New Orleans RB Alvin Kamara (43.91) and Philadelphia WR DeVonta Smith (44.44).

Among running backs, Cook’s ADP puts him 16th at the position behind Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III (38.81) and Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs (41.79). New Houston RB Joe Mixon (46.58) is 17th.

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James Cooks’s 2023-24 stats

Games: 17

Carries | rushing yards: 237 | 1,122

Rushing touchdowns: 2

Receptions | receiving yards: 44 | 445

Receiving touchdowns: 4

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Where should you draft Cook?

Cook’s fantasy value should get a boost this season as the Bills lost their top 2 receivers in Stefon Diggs (to the Texans) and Gabe Davis (to the Jaguars) in the offseason.

Cook’s role in the offense, in both the passing and running games, should increase as he is one of the few pieces on this offense that Allen and the coaching staff know they can rely on. Cook should get more looks inside the red zone in both goal-line run and short pass situations, which will help his rushing TD numbers look a little better.

The Bills are a team that will go as far as their QB takes them, so this means that they will always defer to what Allen wants to do. Unfortunately for Cook, Allen is a very gifted runner, which will take away at least a few of Cook’s carries.

Cook is also a guy that has a bit of a fumble problem, coughing the ball up 3 times last season which tied for 2nd-most in the league by any RB. This number is not alarming, but it is something to be aware of.

You should feel comfortable taking Cook as a high-end RB2 somewhere in the 4th round. He’s not a guy that will get a ton of touchdowns, but his yardage alone makes him a very good pick for some depth in your RB room.

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ESPN ranks the Buffalo Bills highly for ‘long-term success’

ESPN ranks the #Bills highly for ‘long-term success’

The Bills are set up well for the long term.

This is according to an ESPN 2024 NFL Future Power Rankings: Projections for all 32 teams list of teams the sports media outlet deems built for the future.

Power rankings this time of the year in the NFL can be speculative, being that it’s the offseason, and those projections are often educated guesses towards the coming year’s campaign.

In the case of ESPN’s rankings, they’re looking farther out ahead to the future in terms of what team’s project to have sustainable success over an extended period of time, and the Bills are among those at the top of the list.

For this list, ESPN’s focus is long-term projection over the next three seasons (2024 through 2026) and the analysis is provided by Dan Graziano, Louis Riddick, and Aaron Schatz. The trio was asked to rate each team’s quarterback situation, the rest of each club’s non-QB roster makeup, as well as each franchise’s front office and coaching staff, using the following scale:

  • 100: A+ (elite)
  • 90: A (great)
  • 80: B (very good)
  • 70: C (average)
  • 60: D (very bad)
  • 50 and below: F (disastrous)

Once the results have been averaged, each of the four categories are weighted creating each team’s respective overall score: quarterback (20%), roster (30%), front office (25%) and coaching (25%).

The final outcome projects how well each team is positioned for the future, along with the three analysts reasons for optimism, reasons to worry, and crucial stats/nuggets to know for each club.

Here’s what ESPN had to say about the Bills, who they have ranked at third overall on the list behind only the Chiefs (1), and Ravens (2):

3. Buffalo Bills
Overall score: 89.5

WATCH: Bills veterans arrive for 2024 training camp

Back:

The boys (veteran players) are back in town (at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford).

Last week, as tradition goes, the rookie players currently on the Bills roster arrived for their first training camp in Rochester. That group of first-year pros have a chance to get their feet wet first before the rest of the roster reports for duty.

That experience reporting was on Tuesday. Buffalo’s first training camp practice is slated for Wednesday, but veterans such as Josh Allen, Dawson Knox, James Cook and more are back in western New York to get settled in.

The Bills shared a video of those players and more arriving to this summer’s training camp which can be found below:

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Bills’ James Cook predicted as first time All-Pro in 2024

#Bills’ James Cook predicted as first time All-Pro in 2024:

Could Buffalo Bills running back James Cook be on his way to an All-Pro selection in 2024?

Sports Illustrated recently projected which players across the NFL could do just that next season. The Bills’ running back is among the outlet’s projections for first-time All-Pro picks in 2024.

Thinking back to Cook’s efforts last season, despite his Pro Bowl honoring, it might be hard to imagine him landing such a nomination. However, combining that with a lookahead, it makes sense.

The departures of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis this offseason have most looking at Buffalo’s wide receiver room as training camp approaches. How will things shake out there?

That’s a valid question but there are other positions that could step up and carry the load. Included in that is the running back room and Cook sits right at the top of that depth chart.

SI’s breakdown on a potential Cook All-Pro nod can be found below:

Cook was heavily relied upon once Joe Brady took over at midseason as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator. Now that Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis are gone, expect Cook to see even more touches as the Bills move to a more ground-and-pound style of football.

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Bills RB James Cook hosts regional youth football camps

#Bills RB James Cook hosts regional youth football camps:

Buffalo running back James Cook is back to work two weeks early before the Bills training camp kicks off.

But instead of taking handoffs and catching passes from quarterback Josh Allen, Cook was the one tossing the football as he hosted several youth football camps for young and aspiring athletes and fans.

“It just gives motivation to them, they look up to me. However I can inspire them, I’m just going to keep doing it the best way I can,” Cook said to WKBW during his Buffalo camp took place Tuesday at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute.

The second-round 2022 NFL Draft pick turned 2024 Pro Bowler’s camps took place in three locations across New York state last week in the Albany, Rochester, and Buffalo areas.

“Just giving back is always good,” he noted to The Buffalo News. “If I make their day, that’s a good thing.”

The camps were operated in partnership with FlexWork Sports and sponsorship from Community Bank, with 333 reported registrants for the camp in Buffalo.

The campers ranged from 6 to 16 years old and were split into different age groups, they then rotated through drill stations for several hours between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

In addition to the drills, campers played in some seven-on-seven games with Cook at quarterback at times during the day.

He would end each game by huddling up with participants, yelling “Hard work!” on the count of three, with the hope of imparting a lesson to the campers.

“Just keep working hard, and you can make it,” the Bills’ back said.

The kids at the camp were excited to spend time around Buffalo’s RB1 as well.

“It was fun because James Cook was our quarterback,” said 3rd grader Kaden Williams of playing alongside the NFL pro.

Before any Bills fans get too excited at the prospect of Cook lining up under center for a trick play this season, they should know that he did throw at least one pick-six interception to seven-year-old Elliot Malick, who took a pass away and then ran it back for the score.

“Really cool. I’ve never done that – well, I’ve done it in a game,” Malick said about the experience. “It was fun.”

Some of Cook’s play on the NFL field even inspired non-football players to participate as well.

“I really like watching James Cook play football on the TV,” Reese Johnson said, noting that Cook’s ability to “can catch a ball in really rough conditions.” made her want to learn more from the running back himself.

“So, I asked my dad if I could come, and he said ‘Sure.’ … It’s really cool.”