Who Should I Start? Tony Pollard or James Cook

Saturday, December 27, 9:21 PM

Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard is in the middle of a strong stretch of play. Pollard has rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games. During that span, Pollard has totaled 367 yards with three touchdowns. He'll look to keep the good times rolling against the New Orleans Saints in Week 17. A defense that has allowed the seventh-most rushing yards to running backs this season. The only downside is that Pollard is expected to continue splitting the carries with Tyjae Spears. Given Pollard's success, he figures to continue getting plenty of chances. Fantasy managers should consider Pollard a low-end RB2 for this favorable Week 17 matchup.

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.