Who Should I Start? Ray Davis or Woody Marks

Saturday, August 9, 7:07 PM

With Buffalo Bills star running back James Cook staging a hold-in and unwilling to play Saturday, Ray Davis earned the start in the team's 34-25 preseason-opening loss to the New York Giants. Davis rushed for just seven yards on four attempts and caught one of two targets for another seven yards. As the Bills' emergency kicker, his most memorable highlight came on a successful extra-point attempt in the second quarter. The 5-foot-8, 220-pound Davis joined the Bills as a fourth-round pick from Kentucky in 2024 and was a capable reserve behind Cook as a rookie. Davis appeared in all 17 of the Bills' regular-season games and totaled 442 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 113 rushing attempts. He also caught three TDs and pulled in 17 of his 19 targets for 189 yards. With third-down back Ty Johnson also in the fold, Davis took around 25% of offensive snaps last season. That should be the case again in 2025, but Davis might have an expanded role early on if Cook is unavailable. While Cook seems unlikely to sit out into Week 1 over dissatisfaction with his contract, Davis figures to be the main beneficiary if he does. Cook missed one game last season, a 23-20 win over the New York Jets in Week 6, and Davis accrued 152 total yards (97 rushing, 55 receiving) on 23 touches as Buffalo's go-to back.

Sunday, September 14, 6:41 AM

Houston Texans running back Woody Marks was part of the rotation in the team's backfield in Week 1, but the rookie played a very minimal role. He played just seven snaps (11%) against the Rams and took his three carries for three yards. The fourth-round pick showed some upside this training camp and preseason, but is clearly behind Nick Chubb and Dare Ogunbowale on the depth chart, and got the same amount of snaps and carries as Dameon Pierce as well. Down the road, Marks still has the potential to contribute if he can earn more work in the load sharing, but for Week 2 against the Buccaneers, he's a very high-risk play and should be left on the bench in almost all formats. He's the RB63 in the RotoBaller rankings for Week 2.