Who Should I Start? James Cook or Brock Bowers

Saturday, October 4, 5:51 AM

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III draws a difficult matchup in Week 5 against a Patriots defense that has surrendered just 77.5 rushing yards per game, tied for second-fewest in the league. While Cook may find tough sledding between the tackles, his versatility as a receiver should keep him firmly in the RB1 mix. Last week against Baltimore, he managed only 44 yards on the ground but offset that with 58 yards through the air, showing his ability to remain productive even when the rushing lanes are clogged. In what projects to be one of Buffalo's biggest games of the season, the Bills will likely lean on Cook in multiple ways to generate offense. Fantasy managers should continue to view him as a high-end starting option in both standard and PPR formats.

Thursday, October 9, 6:03 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) is missing his fourth straight practice on Thursday, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. "We're hopeful we'll get Brock back soon. He's working his tail off in the rehab process, so we'll see how that goes," said offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Bowers missed practice last Thursday and Friday before missing his first game of his career in the Week 5 blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts. With two straight DNPs to begin this week, it's looking likely that the second-year tight end will miss a second straight contest this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, unless he's able to practice on Friday. The 22-year-old's injury stems from when he injured his knee back in Week 1. The good news for the Raiders is that if Bowers sits out in Week 6, they should be getting Michael Mayer back after he cleared the NFL's concussion protocol this week. Mayer could be worth TE2 streaming consideration in deeper leagues if Bowers is inactive again.