Who Should I Start? James Cook or Travis Hunter

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.

Monday, January 26, 2:34 PM

ESPN's Michael DiRocco writes that "early indications" are that Jacksonville Jaguars two-way star and former Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter is "primarily going to be a cornerback and have a package of plays on offense." Hunter's rookie season in the NFL was cut short by a season-ending knee injury, but he finished the year as more of a receiver than a cornerback. He played 67% of the offensive snaps and 36% of the defensive snaps before his non-contact knee injury in practice on Oct. 30. The Jaguars will continue to use Hunter on offense, but they have more of a need at defensive back going into next season. Hunter could start across from Jourdan Lewis while also playing in nickel situations. What general manager James Gladstone does in free agency will help clarify what exactly the Jags will do with Hunter, but right now, it looks like his fantasy football stock will drop drastically.