James Cook's Role Unlikely To Grow (And Why That's A Problem)

What They're Saying

Buscaglia: "Cook has said he wants to play on third downs more this year, but there really hasn’t been much indication through the first six practices that Cook is getting considerably more time with the first-team offense than Johnson and Davis. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady said he doesn’t feel any pressure to get Cook more work on third downs and that he’s had experience with players in their contract years before."

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Cook is coming off a RB11 finish in PPR points per game, so you might be thinking that he doesn't need more snaps to pay off his RB14 ADP.

But Cook needed high-end efficiency (4.9 yards per carry) and a huge TD total (18) to get to that RB11 finish. He ranked just 27th at the position in expected PPR points per game.

Cook also ranked outside the top-25 RBs last year in:

• Snap rate (36th)
• Route rate (34th)
• Rush attempt share (26th)
• Target share (41st)

Cook is unlikely to match last year's fantasy production in 2025 without a role change. It's why he sits 16th in our updated RB rankings.