Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or James Cook

Friday, August 29, 5:06 PM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan thinks All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey is poised for a bounce-back season in 2025 after the former NFL Offensive Player of the Year was limited to four games in 2024 due to injuries. McCaffrey has been healthy all offeason and training camp and has been looking like his old self. "He came in healthy this year. He had a hell of an offseason, he's had a hell of a training camp, and I believe that's going to lead to a hell of a year," Shanahan said. CMC got off to a late start last year due to Achilles tendinitis in both of his legs and then suffered a PCL sprain in his right knee that ended his season. While the 29-year-old is as injury-prone as they come, he's still worth consideration in the late first round of fantasy drafts. If McCaffrey can stay healthy, he still has the potential to be a league-winner at a discounted price in 2025.

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.