Who Should I Start? Garrett Wilson or James Cook

Saturday, January 31, 5:33 AM

New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (knee) had his 2025 season cut short by a knee injury that he suffered in Week 6. After attempting to make a comeback in Week 10, Wilson was eventually shut down for the remainder of the year. Across the seven games he played, the 25-year-old recorded 36 receptions for 395 yards and four touchdowns on 59 targets. While Wilson remains an obvious talent at the wide receiver position and profiles as the clear lead option in the Jets' passing game going forward, the offensive infrastructure around him in New York continues to be a major question mark. Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, and Brady Cook all saw time at quarterback for the Jets in 2025, but none of them appears to be the team's long-term answer at the position. As such, Wilson will likely be working with yet another new quarterback in 2026. New York will also have a new play-caller after moving on from offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand. Wilson still profiles as a solid wide receiver option for fantasy managers in 2026, but the unstable situation around him limits his production certainty.

Tuesday, January 13, 7:00 PM

After finishing the regular season with an NFL-best 1,621 rushing yards, Buffalo Bills running back James Cook had an underwhelming outing in his first game of the postseason. The 26-year-old was held to just 46 rushing yards on 15 carries and five receiving yards on two catches by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cook's regular-season track record should afford him the benefit of the doubt from fantasy managers. However, he will face another very difficult run defense in the Divisional round when Buffalo travels to Denver to take on the Broncos. The Broncos defense finished the regular season ranked third in the NFL in yards per carry allowed (3.9) and tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns allowed (11). Additionally, Buffalo's already depleted pass-catching corps lost another two wide receivers in Gabe Davis (knee) and Tyrell Shavers (knee), who both suffered season-ending knee injuries in the Wild Card round. As a result, Denver could be even more geared up to stop Cook and take away the run. Cook remains a high-end running back option, but fantasy managers may want to downgrade expectations heading into the Divisional round.