Before James Cook made himself known for the Buffalo Bills in an impactful way, the rushing attack for the Bills went through Josh Allen which was extremely risky. From 2018-2022, Allen averaged 617.4 rushing yards per season and there were a great number of times where there was a QB-designed run.
Now granted, Allen has the size and physicality to run the ball with force. However, all it takes is one bad hit for the worst-case scenario to happen and then the Bills would be put into a much different world for the worst.
The Bills needed to bring in a running back who could take pressure off of Allen, because Devin Singletary clearly wasn't the answer. In 2022, the Bills drafted Cook in the second round out of Georgia and he officially became the team's starting running back in 2023.
Since his sophomore year, Cook has rushed for 1,000+ yards in every season. In 2024, he led the league in rushing touchdowns (16), and then he led the league in rushing yards in 2025 (1,621 yards). Throughout his career, Cook has averaged over five yards per carry despite not being a consistent third-down back.
James Cook has established himself as one of best RBs in NFL
Cook isn’t just one of the best backs in the NFL, but he has been the best back that the Bills have had since LeSean McCoy. Now, McCoy was the best running back in the league at one point, but Cook has been more dynamic with the Bills than McCoy was on a consistent basis.
Even though a lot of the focus is on running backs like Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs as the best backs, Cook is just as dynamic.
With Cook still being in the early part of his career, he is on a trajectory that could put him as one of the best backs to ever play the game. However, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell take on Cook’s track towards the Hall of Fame leans on how Cook still has work to do.
Hall of Fame path is set up for James Cook (but with some challenges to overcome)
Barnwell recently wrote about each team’s future Hall of Fame players that included categories such as players that are in, players who are on the cusp, players who have work to do, players who have to keep it up, and there is even a category for players that just may miss it.
As for the Bills, Josh Allen was the only player on the team that was listed as in, which is completely understandable. He is by far one of the most dynamic quarterbacks that we have ever seen and all he has left is to win a Super Bowl.
Then in the “Work To Do” section, both James Cook and offensive lineman Spencer Brown were listed for the Bills.
Barnwell about James Cook:
"Cook is still only 26 and has three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances under his belt. He's fifth in rushing yards over that span, although he also leads all backs in fumbles over that stretch with 10. Cook has best-back-in-the-league potential if he protects the football and steals a few touchdowns away from Allen, but he'll need to have a couple of seasons at that level to have a shot at the Hall." said Barnwell.
The fumbles have indeed been a problem for Cook throughout his career. In fact, if you wanted the 2022 season opener between the Bills and Los Angeles Rams, you would have seen that Cook’s first NFL carry was a fumble. In four seasons, Cook has 11 fumbles, and he has lost 5 of them to the defense.
That is definitely something that needs to improve on his end. As far as the factor of taking some rushing touchdowns away from Allen, that could sometimes be out of his control. As stated earlier, Allen averaged 617.4 rushing yards per season prior to Cook being the starter.
From 2023-2025, Allen has only averaged 544.6 yards per carry. At the same time, Allen has scored 12+ rushing touchdowns in the last three seasons. While Cook does have 28 rushing touchdowns on the ground the last two years, imagine how many more he would have if Allen didn’t score as much on the ground as he does.
Cook has already established himself as one of the best backs in the league, and if he continues at the rate that is at and improves even more, there should be no doubt that he finds himself in the Hall of Fame one day.
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