Ryan O'Halloran: James Cook was a breakout star in 2023. This year, he's primed for a repeat
The Bills’ offseason activity at running back signaled their confidence in Cook as a workhorse, O'Halloran says.
The top three Buffalo Bills-related fantasy football questions thrown my way by friends and radio hosts during the preseason:
How early should I draft tight end Dalton Kincaid?
(Early.)
Who emerges as the No. 1 receiver minus Stefon Diggs?
(Curtis Samuel.)
And is running back James Cook a first-tier player?
(Yes … I think.)
Cook, the Bills’ second-round pick in 2022, was a breakout player last year, finishing 10th in the NFL in attempts (237), fourth in yards (1,122) and second in rushes of at least 10 yards (33).
Is Cook set up for the same kind of usage — 277 offensive touches — again this year?
“He’s come back in really good shape; he’s stronger,” running backs coach Kelly Skipper said during training camp.
Entering his third season, Bills running back James Cook ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,122 rushing yards last season, his first as the team’s starter. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
The Bills’ offseason activity at running back signaled their confidence in Cook as a workhorse.
Last year, the Bills went the veteran route with Damien Harris, Latavius Murray and even Leonard Fournette to back up Cook. Harris suffered a career-ending neck injury in Week 4; Murray carried 79 times; and Fournette was a late-season practice squad call-up who didn’t play in the postseason. By the playoffs, Ty Johnson — who started the season on the practice squad — was the No. 2 option.
This year, the Bills re-signed Johnson and drafted Ray Davis in the fourth round. Samuel will likely get some carries when he lines up in the backfield. But the run game is all about Cook.
Now about those touchdowns — Cook’s two ranked tied for 59th in the NFL; quarterback Josh Allen’s 15 tied for second. The final element of Cook’s game is becoming a goal-line option, thus saving Allen from dive-over-the-pile duty.
Put me down for Cook to reach rushing totals of 225 carries, 1,200 yards and six touchdowns.
Quick kicks
1. Clayton, Buechele updates. Bills offensive tackle Travis Clayton and quarterback Shane Buechele provided details on their season-ending injuries after Wednesday’s practice.Clayton, the native of England playing football for the first time, was shut down because of a right shoulder injury after the first padded practice July 29. He said he suffered a 270-degree tear of his labrum, and surgery is a possibility.
“It’s frustrating, and it’s out of my control, so I have to now think, ‘What can I do that’s in my control?’ And that’s rehabbing it,” he said.
Buechele, who entered camp as the favorite to be the practice squad quarterback, sustained fractures of his T1 and T2 vertebrae (base of the neck) in the Aug. 10 exhibition loss to Chicago.
“It was early in the game — I didn’t know (what was wrong), so I kept playing,” he said. “The next morning, it was pretty sore, so I came in (to the facility) and got it checked out and got a couple of tests. I was surprised, because I had never gone through anything like that before. I thought it was a little stinger.”
Buechele said surgery isn’t required.
The Bills placed Clayton and Buechele on injured reserve, making them ineligible to practice or play this year, but they can train at the facility and attend all meetings, practices and games.
2. Rare in-division trade. Bills general manager Brandon Beane completed only his second trade with another AFC East team when he acquired rookie cornerback/returner Brandon Codrington from the New York Jets on Monday; the Bills received a 2026 seventh-round pick and the Jets a 2026 sixth-round pick. Beane’s only other intra-division trade was Aug. 30, 2019, when he traded center Russell Bodine to New England for a 2020 sixth-round pick.
3. Cardinals’ McBride a challenge. Tight end Trey McBride caught 29 passes as a rookie before breaking out with 81 catches last year for Arizona. I looked at his 10-catch, 102-yard game against San Francisco last December. He caught three passes apiece after lining up at tight end left and right, two at slot right and one apiece from slot left and motion. McBride’s 38-yard catch was on a corner route, and five of his catches were after he started the play by chipping a defensive end.
4. Skipper proud of older brother. Bills running backs coach Kelly Skipper will have an eye on Saturday’s Fresno State-Michigan game because the Bulldogs will be coached by his younger brother, Tim.
Ten years younger than Kelly, Tim is in the interim head coach after Jeff Tedford stepped down citing health issues. When Tim was being recruited by Fresno State, Kelly was a Bulldogs assistant coach.
“I recruited him and let the other coaches evaluate him,” Kelly said. “The head coach (Pat Hill) threw the tape on and let the defensive coaches look at it, and they were like, ‘OK, this guy can play.’ And then I was needed.”
Tim Skipper played at Fresno State before starting an eight-school coaching career.
“We followed my dad’s footsteps,” Kelly said of his father, Jim, who is retired after a 44-year career in colleges and the NFL. “He set the foundation and we followed.”
5. Draft watch. Each week, I’ll highlight a potential 2025 draft prospect in a game. First up is LSU third-year linebacker Harold Perkins. The Tigers face USC Sunday night in Las Vegas. Perkins is listed at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, but is moving back to an edge defender role this year. He has 147 tackles and 13 sacks in 27 career games. The SEC coaches have named him all-league in both of his seasons.