Who Should I Start? James Cook or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

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.

Thursday, January 1, 4:37 PM

Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (illness) was able to practice in full on Thursday after he was held out due to illness on Wednesday. Croskey-Merritt had his second 100-yard game and two rushing touchdowns in last week's Christmas Day loss to the Dallas Cowboys, with Chris Rodriguez Jr. out due to illness. Rodriguez is back in the fold for the Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles this weekend, though, so fantasy managers will want to lower expectations for Croskey-Merritt in the final game of his rookie season. The 24-year-old JCM could be Washington's lead back against the Eagles, but Rodriguez's presence will definitely cap the rookie's upside this weekend.