Who Should I Start? Kyren Williams or James Cook

Saturday, January 24, 10:53 AM

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams has been one of his team's offensive stars so far this postseason, recording 192 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns on 40 touches across two games. The Rams split backfield work fairly evenly between Williams and second-year back Blake Corum down the stretch of the regular season. However, the team has leaned more heavily on Williams in the playoffs, with Corum earning just six touches to Williams' 25 in the NFC Divisional Round. On paper, Williams has an extremely difficult matchup in the NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle finished the regular season ranked first among NFL defenses in yards per carry allowed (3.7) and second in rushing touchdowns allowed (nine). On the bright side, Williams had some success against the Seahawks in the regular season, totaling 181 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 39 touches across two matchups. He may not have his most efficient game in a tough matchup, but Williams should see a heavy workload in the NFC Championship Game.

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.