RADIO
James Cook III Remains a Top-Tier Running Back to Target in Fantasy Drafts
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III has been a top-eight fantasy option each of the last two seasons, and he shows no signs of slowing down ahead of the 2026 campaign. Cook rushed for a career-high 1,621 yards last year, added another 33 catches and 291 receiving yards, and scored 14 total touchdowns. His touchdown total dipped slightly from 2025 to 2026, but he improved in every other category. In addition to the overall counting stats, we're very impressed by the fact that he rushed for 5.25 yards per carry, which is the highest mark since his rookie campaign in 2022. Last year, fantasy managers said they were concerned about drafting Cook because he was due for touchdown regression and was going to lose volume to Josh Allen in the rushing game. Neither of those things happened, and even though Allen remains a presence in the rushing attack for 2026, this backfield belongs to Cook. He's an every-down back who should command a ton of volume (including around the goal line) in a very powerful offense. That's a recipe for success in fantasy football, and it's why Cook is a consensus first-round pick in drafts once again. Specifically, he ranks as the RB5 in RotoBaller's latest redraft rankings.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Ray Davis Strengthening His Handcuff Case
Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis has strengthened his case as a late-round handcuff after a productive preseason. Davis turned seven touches into 53 scrimmage yards against Carolina, then started with James Cook III resting against Cleveland and handled seven carries for 21 yards and a touchdown while adding a 10-yard reception. Ty Johnson (lower leg) has also missed more than two weeks of practice, although he has resumed sprinting and could still be available for Week 1. Davis remains unlikely to see dependable standalone volume behind Cook, who won the 2025 rushing title with 1,621 yards. The 5-foot-8, 211-pound back carried only 58 times for 275 yards last season, but he showed what he can do with a larger workload in Week 18. Davis rushed 21 times for 151 yards and caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown against the Jets while Cook handled only two carries. Thursday's muffed punt against Pittsburgh was an ugly finish to the preseason, but it does not change the offensive case. Davis has reinforced his value as Cook's primary rushing insurance and a worthwhile late-round target in deeper redraft leagues.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
James Cook III a Safe Pick with Upside in 2026
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III has finished as a top-10 running back in overall scoring in back-to-back seasons. He has rushed for 2,630 yards on 516 carries with 28 touchdowns across 33 games. In addition, Cook won the rushing title last year with 1,621 rushing yards. The 26-year-old has proven he can be a top fantasy producer by relying on his rushing production. However, Bills offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael has hinted that the Bills will look to use him more in the passing game this year, according to Alex Brasky of Sports Illustrated. Cook was labeled the best receiving running back in the 2022 NFL Draft coming out of Georgia due to his skillful route running and excellent hands. Conversely, Cook has mainly operated as an early-down runner and a goal-line back near the end zone. If Cook gets more involved in the passing game, it could boost him into a top 3 overall finisher at the position this season.
Source: Sports Illustrated - Alex Brasky
Source: Sports Illustrated - Alex Brasky
Ty Johnson Still Not Practicing with Knee Injury
Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson (knee) is still not practicing after an apparent lower-body injury sustained during a scrimmage on August 10th. Johnson limped off after falling on a route and left with his arm wrapped around a trainer. The Bills have been quiet about Johnson's status, with head coach Joe Brady saying they would know an answer a week after the injury. If Johnson ends up missing time during the season, starter James Cook could see more receiving work. There have been rumors that Cook will have a bigger role in the passing game, and Johnson's injury could open the door for those wishes to come true. Fantasy managers should evaluate Johnson's status heading into the beginning of the season, as this could have direct implications for Cook's role.
Source: Matt Parrino
Source: Matt Parrino
Ray Davis Still Looks Like a Handcuff in Redraft Leagues
Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis is easy to like in theory. The problem is James Cook III isn't going anywhere. Davis had only 58 carries last season, finishing with 275 rushing yards, while Cook ran for 1,621 yards on 309 carries and won the rushing title. That's a pretty wide gap. Davis did show what can happen when the door actually opens, though. In Week 18, with Buffalo easing off Cook, he ran 21 times for 151 yards and caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown. That was his only game all year with double-digit carries. Ty Johnson is still around to take passing-down work, so even the backup role isn't completely clean from a fantasy standpoint. RotoBaller has Davis 183rd overall in its Aug. 19 PPR rankings, which puts him in late-round territory. That's about right. Davis can handle a bigger workload if Buffalo ever needs him to, but until something happens to Cook, there probably isn't enough here for regular standalone value.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Bills Brass Happy With New Field After Preseason Opener
The Buffalo Bills' new Highmark Stadium showed signs of wear and tear before, during, and after the team's preseason opener on Saturday against the Carolina Panthers, but president Pete Guelli is not worried about the grass field. "From a playability and safety perspective, everybody's very happy," Guelli said. "It's Year 1. So it's a brand new field, and it's going to take time for the foundation to build up. So some of the things people saw in the game, those will dissipate over time." "Our grounds people were aware that was a possibility. Until it actually happens in a game as the field is maturing and the root system is setting, those things can happen," Guelli said about the field getting torn up. The Bills' new stadium has been criticized on social media based on seats with obstructed views by guardrails and stairs. With the move to a new stadium, the Bills switched from artificial turf to grass, with their old surface routinely panned by Bills players for being among the league's worst. The team went with Kentucky bluegrass, and it was also installed on the team's practice field.
Source: The Associated Press
Source: The Associated Press
James Cook III to be Used More in the Passing Game?
Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael has hinted that the Buffalo Bills will look to use running back James Cook III more in the passing game this year, per Alex Brasky of Sports Illustrated. "Anytime you can get the ball in his hands, you have an opportunity for a big play. I think that he can bring value, not only in the run game and the pass game as well," Carmichael said. Cook led the NFL with 1,621 rushing yards and also scored 12 touchdowns on a career-high 309 carries in 17 regular-season games last year, adding 33 receptions for 291 yards and another two scores as a pass-catcher. It was a big year for the 26-year-old, but new head coach Joe Brady has hinted at the possibility of Buffalo lightening Cook's rushing load going into his fifth season in the league. One way to have Cook take less of a beating would be to cut back on his carries and give him more work in the passing game. Even if Cook's overall rushing workload drops, he could easily finish as a top-five RB in fantasy if he adds more targets in the passing game in Buffalo. The three-time Pro Bowler has had a nose for the end zone the last two years, scoring 28 rushing touchdowns after finding paydirt just four times as a rusher in his first two years in the league.
Source: Sports Illustrated - Alex Brasky
Source: Sports Illustrated - Alex Brasky
Bills' New Stadium Drawing Heat Over Obstructed Views
The Buffalo Bills opened their new stadium on Saturday night when the team held a practice in the new building, and the event sparked a variety of images of seats with obstructed views, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Chief operating officer Pete Guelli said that the Bills have heard from "less than one percent" of the Personal Seat License account holders regarding sight-line concerns at the new stadium. Guelli said the team will address the issues on a "case-by-case basis." Buffalo has more than 17,000 PSL account holders, with each account holder having one or more seats in the new stadium. One of the extreme examples that was posted on social media over the weekend was taken from a seat that has not been sold and will not be sold for football games.
Source: Pro Football Talk - Mike Florio
Source: Pro Football Talk - Mike Florio
Ty Johnson Sustains Knee Injury During Saturday Night Practice
NYup.com's Matt Parrino reported Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson went down to the ground and immediately grabbed his right knee during a 1-on-1 drill during Saturday night's practice. The Bills' training staff helped Johnson to the sideline, then back to the locker room. There is currently no immediate official update, but the 28-year-old will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the injury. Johnson is currently listed as the No. 3 running back on the depth chart behind James Cook and Ray Davis, and primarily was used as the team's third-down back in passing situations. If Johnson has to miss an extended amount of time, Cook could see a big uptick in work on passing downs. Cook was viewed as an elite receiving back prospect coming out of Georgia, but he has mainly been deployed as an early-down runner in the NFL.
Source: NYup.com - Matt Parrino
Source: NYup.com - Matt Parrino
Ray Davis Expected to be Fine After Injury Scare
After a foot injury on Tuesday, Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis (foot) returned to practice and is fine. Davis went down during an 11-on-11 drill with a lower-right-leg injury. He went to the medical tent, returned with tape on that foot/ankle, and had no serious injury. The former fourth-round pick struggled in 2025, totaling only 361 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in 17 games. As a direct handcuff to star running back James Cook, Davis has a tough time finding standalone value, with fellow backup Ty Johnson taking most of the receiving work in the offense. If Cook is injured, Davis would be a priority pickup; otherwise, he will likely be a non-factor in fantasy this season.
Source: Ty Dunne
Source: Ty Dunne
James Cook III Could be Looking at Fewer Touches
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III led the NFL in rushing last year with 1,621 yards and 12 touchdowns on 309 carries in 17 regular-season games, with the Bills rushing the ball 52.4% of the time under offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The offense has leaned more heavily on the running game since Brady took over play-calling duties in Week 11 of 2023, but Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com questions whether the Bills will throw more under Brady in 2026. "I don't think you ever go into each game with a mindset of, 'This is how many carries he's going to have.' But it does pile up throughout the season, and I give him a lot of credit," said Brady. "I would love to be able to get Ray Davis, Ty Johnson, Frank Gore Jr., those guys involved, and I hope those opportunities come up this year. James was just playing at such a high level last year. And this year again we're looking at everything." Cook is a three-time Pro Bowler who runs behind an elite offensive line, but fantasy managers may want to expect some regression in the rushing department in 2026, especially since the Bills made a concerted effort to upgrade their receiving room in the offseason. Don't forget that Cook had just four rushing touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons, then exploded for 28 rushing TDs in the last two seasons.
Source: BuffaloBills.com - Chris Brown
Source: BuffaloBills.com - Chris Brown
Ty Johnson Offers Little Fantasy Value in His Change-of-Pace Role
Even as his teammate James Cook III has developed into one of the league's true bell cow runners, veteran running back Ty Johnson has maintained an important change-of-pace role, seeing at least 40 carries and 25 targets in each of the past two seasons. While Cook's spot atop the depth chart makes it difficult for any other Buffalo running back to accumulate stats, Johnson's comfort in the passing game could lead to limited fantasy viability should an injury force him into a larger role in 2026. That said, in such a scenario, it would likely be third-year back Ray Davis serving as more of a direct handcuff to Cook, making the soon-to-be-29-year-old Johnson difficult to trust even with a clearing ahead of him. With a lack of standalone value and no obvious path to a substantially increased workload, Johnson is not a player that fantasy drafters will need to consider in 2026.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Ray Davis Carries Little Standalone Value into 2026
Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis saw his usage cut nearly in half in his second season, but in bumping his per-carry average up to 4.7 yards per attempt, he showed enough growth to suggest he could keep the Bills' running game on track should he ever need to handle an expanded role. Three-time Pro Bowler James Cook has missed only two games in his four-year career and has developed into one of the league's true bell cow backs, handling a career-high 349 opportunities in 2026. Providing very little in the passing game, Davis has almost no bankable standalone value, with veteran Ty Johnson likely to hold onto the primary change-of-pace role and making the third-year back reliant upon an injury to see fantasy viability in 2026. At RotoBaller's RB59, Davis is not necessarily a player who needs to factor into draft plans, but he would become an obvious waiver priority should the situation ahead of him change.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
James Cook III Remains a High-End Running Back Option Entering 2026
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III earned second-team All-Pro honors for his work in 2025, when he recorded 1,912 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns on 342 touches across 17 games. The 26-year-old has always been an uber-efficient rusher, and he saw his workload spike from 14.9 touches per game in 2024 to 20.1 touches per game in 2025. The Bills promoted former offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach ahead of the 2026 season and did not make any notable additions to their running back room, so there's little reason to think that Cook III's role in the team's offense will change. By measure of per-game PPR scoring, Cook III has been a solid RB1 in back-to-back seasons. Entering 2026, he remains a high-end running back option for fantasy managers in redraft leagues.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Ty Johnson More Watch-List Name Than Redraft Sleeper
Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson has carved out a real role in the offense, but it has not translated into much dependable fantasy value. He played all 17 games last season and finished with 50 carries for 200 yards and three touchdowns, adding 24 catches for 263 yards and two more scores on 33 targets. That is decent production for Buffalo's third back, though 74 total touches are not enough to make him someone fantasy managers need to draft. James Cook III remains firmly in control of the backfield, and Ray Davis would likely handle most of the early-down work if Cook were to miss time. Johnson should continue to mix in on passing downs and in change-of-pace situations, but that role is more useful to the Bills than it is to fantasy lineups. He is also 28 and entering the final year of his contract, so there is not much dynasty appeal either. Johnson belongs on the watchlist in deep PPR leagues, but he can be left undrafted in most formats.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
