Who Should I Start? Jerome Ford or James Cook

Friday, July 26, 8:30 AM

Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford (personal) reportedly missed practice on Thursday due to a personal matter. Patrick Warren of clevelandbrowns.com reports that Ford is expected back at practice on Friday as he only needed to tend to the matter on Thursday. The 24-year-old projects to be the starter with Nick Chubb (knee) still on the PUP list and recovering from his gruesome injury last season. The good news for fantasy managers is this is just a temporary absence and Ford should be back on the field taking first-team snaps.

Wednesday, June 12, 4:36 PM

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook dropped five passes last season, which ranked sixth among all qualified running backs. Early in offseason activities, the third-year pro out of Georgia has continued to struggle in that area, according to Bills reporter Alex Brasky. "James Cook allowed a pass to bounce off his hands, high into the air near the start of team drills at Wednesday's mandatory minicamp." Brasky wrote, "Cook encountered issues with drops last season and has done little to ramp down those concerns during offseason activities." While this is somewhat of a concern, it can often be overplayed when analyzing a player's fantasy football value. After catching 44 passes for 445 yards and ranking second among running backs in yards per reception, the team is unlikely to pull back his receiving workload. That said, rookie fourth-rounder Ray Davis caught 62 passes over his final two collegiate seasons in the SEC and could become a factor on third downs.