This is the second in a series looking at the status of each position before the Buffalo Bills report to training camp on July 23. This installment: Running backs.
A year ago, the Buffalo Bills exited the offseason program with three veteran running backs on the roster to support first-time starter James Cook.
Not so much entering this season.
It’s mostly on you, Jimbo (the nickname used by Cook’s teammates).
Gone are Nyheim Hines (cut), Damien Harris (retired) and Latavius Murray (unsigned). Cook’s new supporting cast of four tailbacks have a combined 300 regular-season carries.
Cook finished fourth in the NFL with 1,112 rushing yards and 10th in attempts with 237. He also caught 44 passes for 445 yards for a total workload of 281 touches.
“We’re excited about the progress (Cook) showed at the end of last season,” offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. “The mindset and work ethic that he has right now, you’re hoping he’s a guy that’s going to continue to take another step. I love everything about James Cook.”
In his first season as the Buffalo Bills’ starting tailback, James Cook finished fourth in the NFL with 1,122 rushing yards. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
But do the Bills love everything about Cook’s usage?
“I think a lot of this is, ‘We’ll see,’ ” Brady said. “We feel confident in the room that we have and whoever is playing running back and carrying the football, they’re going to do a good job. With regard to a certain target number (for Cook), that is seeing how his body holds up and what he can do.”
During head coach Sean McDermott’s tenure (2017-current), the Bills haven’t had a player with consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. In the last 25 years, the Bills have had four players with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons – Travis Henry (2002-03), Willis McGahee (2004-05), Marshawn Lynch (2007-08) and LeSean McCoy (2016-17).
If the Bills do want to manage Cook’s touches, they need returning veteran Ty Johnson and fourth-round rookie Ray Davis to emerge.
Returnees: James Cook, Ty Johnson, Darrynton Evans (signed, then released last summer) and Reggie Gilliam (FB).
Newcomers: Ray Davis, Darrynton Evans (signed in January) and Frank Gore Jr.
Departures: Nyheim Hines (Cleveland), Damien Harris (retired) and Latavius Murray (free agent).
Key number: 230/273. Rushing attempts for Cook in 50 college games for Georgia over four years and 20 games for the Bills last season, respectively. For the Bulldogs, Cook never had a game of more than 12 carries and had only five double-digit attempt games. For the Bills in 2023, he had 16 games of at least 12 carries and 18 double-digit attempt games.
Top position battle: No. 2 tailback. Entering camp, it appears to be a two-player competition between Johnson and Davis. Johnson, who started last season on the practice squad, emerged as a reliable player, particularly in the playoffs, when he carried 15 times for 66 yards.
Davis certainly has experience in terms of rushing attempts (719) and playing in different systems (two years apiece at Temple and Vanderbilt and one year at Kentucky). How Davis could separate himself and carve out a role is as a receiver – he caught 62 passes (10 touchdowns) in his final two college seasons.
What to expect: Wash, rinse, repeat Plan A for the Bills’ running game. Make sure quarterback Josh Allen doesn’t have to absorb too much punishment as a ball-carrier. He had 15 of the team’s 22 rushing touchdowns in last year’s regular season and knows how to protect himself. But it is time for the Bills to use non-quarterback players at the goal line to score touchdowns. Cook has five rushing touchdowns in 37 career games (including the playoffs).