Who Should I Start? James Cook or TreVeyon Henderson

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.

Tuesday, January 13, 6:09 PM

New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson was one of the standout offensive rookies of the 2025 season. However, the 23-year-old underwhelmed in his first postseason appearance by recording just 36 scrimmage yards on 10 touches against the Los Angeles Chargers. Veteran Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson was the star of the team's backfield against the Chargers, racking up 128 scrimmage yards on 13 touches. Stevenson also out-snapped Henderson 40 to 25. In the divisional round, New England will face one of the NFL's best defenses in the Houston Texans. Houston completely dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round, allowing just 63 total rushing yards. Between the difficult matchup and the playing time question marks, Henderson's fantasy stock has taken a hit heading into the Divisional round. For fantasy managers in playoff leagues facing a choice between the two Patriots running backs, Stevenson may be the safer option.