Who Should I Start? James Cook or Omarion Hampton

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.

Tuesday, August 12, 6:11 PM

Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said that even if running back Najee Harris (eye) isn't ready to go for the Week 1 regular-season opener, rookie first-rounder Omarion Hampton will rotate in with another back. Who the other RB is remains wide open, according to Roman. If Harris isn't ready for Week 1, it would be either Kimani Vidal Hassan Haskins sharing backfield touches with Hampton. With that said, Hampton's fantasy value heading into his first year in the NFL has continued to go up with Harris still on the Physically Unable to Perform list thanks to a fireworks accident that injured his eye. RotoBaller has Hampton ranked as the No. 13 fantasy RB currently. He's expected to be L.A.'s primary back by season's end, regardless of Harris' health, and he has intriguing big-play ability in what will be a run-first offensive attack.