Who Should I Start? Saquon Barkley or James Cook

Friday, October 3, 7:07 PM

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has failed to eclipse 50 rushing yards in each of his last two games, and will face another hurdle this Sunday against the Broncos. Denver is allowing 99.3 rushing yards per game this season-just one of 11 teams to average under 100. They also stifled Bengals RB Chase Brown on Monday, keeping him to 40 yards on 10 carries with his longest attempt going for six yards. However, Philly does have a much stronger offensive line than Cincinnati does, and Barkley averages more yards per carry (3.1) than Brown (2.3). Even with a couple things going against him, Barkley remains a definitive RB1 for Week 5.

Saturday, October 4, 5:51 AM

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III draws a difficult matchup in Week 5 against a Patriots defense that has surrendered just 77.5 rushing yards per game, tied for second-fewest in the league. While Cook may find tough sledding between the tackles, his versatility as a receiver should keep him firmly in the RB1 mix. Last week against Baltimore, he managed only 44 yards on the ground but offset that with 58 yards through the air, showing his ability to remain productive even when the rushing lanes are clogged. In what projects to be one of Buffalo's biggest games of the season, the Bills will likely lean on Cook in multiple ways to generate offense. Fantasy managers should continue to view him as a high-end starting option in both standard and PPR formats.