Who Should I Start? James Cook or Tyrone Tracy Jr.

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.

Sunday, January 4, 5:53 PM

New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. rushed for 103 yards on 18 carries during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Dallas Cowboys. He also caught eight of his nine targets for an additional 56 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. The lone blemish of Tracy's performance was a third-quarter fumble. The second-year back finished the 2025 season with four touchdowns and over 1,000 scrimmage yards, filling in admirably for rookie Cam Skattebo (ankle). While we expect Skattebo to operate as the Giants' workhorse running back next year, Tracy is a valuable handcuff who has shown that he can be equally productive in the lead-back role.