Who Should I Start? Pat Freiermuth or James Cook

Monday, January 12, 6:37 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth had very limited fantasy football upside in 2025 while sharing TE duties with both Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington (forearm). He finished as the TE24 in half-PPR scoring in 16 regular-season games, with 41 catches on 54 targets for 486 yards and four touchdowns. Freiermuth and Smith should have slightly bigger roles going into the playoffs on Wild-Card weekend on Monday night against the Houston Texans with Washington out, but the 27-year-old still isn't an ideal option for fantasy managers in a bad matchup. Freiermuth did finish the regular season strong with six catches on 10 targets for 114 yards in the final two games, but he hasn't scored since Nov. 23. The Texans have the No. 1 defense in the league, and they've allowed only 775 receiving yards (seventh-fewest) and eight TDs all year to the tight end position.

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.