Who Should I Start? James Cook or Chase Brown

Thursday, July 24, 12:31 PM

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook, who is entering the final year of his current contract in 2025, said he never thought about holding out at training camp and is confident a deal will be reached eventually. "I'm never gonna give up. I deserve what I want. ... It's gonna get done, wherever it happens at," Cook said. The 25-year-old former second-rounder in 2022 out of Georgia easily had the best year of his career in 2024, rushing for 1,009 yards and a league-high 16 touchdowns on 207 carries while also adding 32 receptions for 258 yards and another two scores in 16 regular-season starts. With or without an extension, Cook is Buffalo's clear lead back, but Ray Davis and Ty Johnson aren't going away and will remain involved in an offense that likes to spread the ball around. One thing is for certain, fantasy managers cannot count on double-digit TDs again after Cook rushed for four touchdowns his first two seasons.

Friday, July 25, 1:17 PM

Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein reports that Cincinnati Bengals coaches and players have been very high on running back Chase Brown this summer. "I think Chase Brown is going to, by the end of the season, be a household name," offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. "He's everything that Austin Ekeler was. I think that by the time the season's over, [you'll all] know who he is." Pitcher has also said the Brown will be a focal point of the offense this year, which seems like a good idea after he ran for 990 yards and seven touchdowns on 229 carries in 16 regular-season games (10 starts) in 2024. He also caught 54 of his 65 targets for 360 yards and four touchdowns, proving he can really do it all. Brown had at least 50 snaps and 15 touches in each of his last eight games. The Bengals could look to spell him when they need to, but he's at least a low-end RB1 target in fantasy.