Who Should I Start? Kyren Williams or James Cook

Thursday, August 28, 8:21 AM

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams could be in danger of seeing a reduced workload this upcoming season. As reported by Mike Florio of NBC, Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said that "the plan is to split those up a little bit and distribute, whether it's the run or the pass game, and making sure people are involved within the scheme" when discussing the potential for Williams to lose touches to second-year running back Blake Corum. While LaFleur expressed that if anyone could take on a larger workload, it would be Williams, the team appears to focus on keeping their top running back healthy throughout the long season. LaFleur also expressed that Corum has "had a really good training camp" and that "he'll get his opportunities come Week 1." Last season, Williams was deployed as the clear workhorse in Los Angeles, while Corum only ran the ball 58 total times. While fantasy managers should still view Williams as a low-end RB1, he could fall into the high-end RB2 range if he were to see a drop in attempts.

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.