Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or James Cook

Friday, August 15, 1:06 PM

Cole Thompson of Texans Wire writes that Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk stood out during the team's two-minute offense in joint practice with th Carolina Panthers on Thursday and "has been the most consistent receiver in camp not named Nico Collins." Kirk is locking up the WR2 spot behind Collins, and "no one expected Kirk to be just an average receiver when the Texans traded for him this offseason." The 28-year-old's fantasy stock was down following an injury-plagued final season in Jacksonville in 2024 in which he played in only eight games and caught 27 passes for 379 yards and one touchdowns. It also didn't help that Houston drafted rookies Jayden Higgins (second round) and Jaylin Noel (third round) back in April. Kirk's fantasy demise might be premature, though, which could make him an excellent value pick later in fantasy drafts for WR depth.

Wednesday, August 13, 9:13 AM

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is officially back in the fold after signing a four-year contract extension with his team on Wednesday. Soon after the signing was announced, Buffalo GM Brandon Beane told reporters that he views Cook as a three-down back. Beane said, "We do feel he can take more, but we like to use our three options and keep him fresh." Cook often lost passing-down work to Ty Johnson last season and only played on 48% of Buffalo's offensive snaps. It is unlikely that Buffalo installs Cook as their workhorse, as their running game was effective in 2024, but it would be a positive for fantasy managers if the Bills shifted some of the targets in the passing game onto Cook's plate. Either way, he sets up as a solid RB2 in fantasy with an RB1 ceiling if he starts catching more passes.