Who Should I Start? Patrick Mahomes or James Cook

Wednesday, April 23, 3:09 PM

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit the NFL by storm early in his career with his deep-passing skills and explosive plays. However, the Chiefs' offense ranked 27th in 20-plus-yard plays in 2024. Since Tyreek Hill departed to Miami and Travis Kelce has taken a step back, its offense has not connected on splash plays as often. Heading into next season, Mahomes is aiming to incorporate big plays back into the offense. "We've had a lot of turnover in the receiving room, and it seems like the core group will be back in its entirety." Mahomes said." So the goal is to try to build on it and get even better and try to get back to some of the explosive passing plays that we've done in years past." With all-world speedster Xavier Worthy heading into Year 2 and a potential full season of Marquise Brown, the ceiling is high for Kansas City's passing attack in 2025. Mahomes has not been a fantasy football game-changer over the last two seasons, but a more dangerous offensive attack could put him back in the high-end QB1 range.

Thursday, July 24, 12:31 PM

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook, who is entering the final year of his current contract in 2025, said he never thought about holding out at training camp and is confident a deal will be reached eventually. "I'm never gonna give up. I deserve what I want. ... It's gonna get done, wherever it happens at," Cook said. The 25-year-old former second-rounder in 2022 out of Georgia easily had the best year of his career in 2024, rushing for 1,009 yards and a league-high 16 touchdowns on 207 carries while also adding 32 receptions for 258 yards and another two scores in 16 regular-season starts. With or without an extension, Cook is Buffalo's clear lead back, but Ray Davis and Ty Johnson aren't going away and will remain involved in an offense that likes to spread the ball around. One thing is for certain, fantasy managers cannot count on double-digit TDs again after Cook rushed for four touchdowns his first two seasons.