Who Should I Start? Miles Sanders or James Cook

Friday, October 10, 5:02 PM

Dallas Cowboys running back Miles Sanders (ankle, knee) has been moved to season-ending injured reserve, according to Patrick Walker of the Dallas Cowboys. Sanders was limited in practice on Wednesday before missing Thursday's practice, but now his season is over as he deals with multiple injuries to his ankle and knee. The 28-year-old served as the primary backup running back to Javonte Williams over the first four games of the season before missing Week 5. Rookie Jaydon Blue was active in his place and should step into a larger role now with Sanders out. Blue shouldn't be in lineups for Week 6, but he is an interesting speculative pickup ahead of Sunday's game against the Panthers.

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.