Who Should I Start? Austin Ekeler or James Cook

Friday, September 29, 5:15 PM

According to ESPN's Kris Rhim, Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler (ankle) isn't expected to play on Sunday versus the Raiders. The veteran injured his ankle in the regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins and has missed the last two games. As a result, Joshua Kelley has been the top guy on the depth chart the last two weeks, although he hasn't taken advantage of his additional workload, totaling just 51 yards off 24 touches. Kelley is hard to trust entering Week 4. Yet, he still warrants consideration from managers in deeper fantasy setups. Regarding Ekeler, the Chargers have a bye on the horizon, meaning he might return for the Week 6 clash with the Dallas Cowboys.

Friday, September 29, 9:09 PM

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook has presented very promising results so far this year, registering at least 16 touches in each of his three opening games. The 24-year-old's role in handling base work and the bulk of targets (13) out of the Bills backfield has lent itself to a relatively high fantasy floor. Cook's five red-zone touches still trail trusted veteran Latavius Murray (eight) in this area, which remains problematic for his ceiling. Buffalo's encouraging combination of positive game script and strong run blocking should eventually yield higher-scoring returns out of Cook, who saw some more high-value touches in Week 3 after getting zero in the season opener. With the 2022 second-rounder ranking third in rushing yards (267) on the young season, treat Cook as an RB2 with RB1 upside in Week 4 against a Miami Dolphins defense that has allowed the sixth-most ground yards to RBs (337) this year.