In the early years of having Josh Allen under center, the Buffalo Bills had trouble bringing in a consistent rushing attack that didn’t feature Allen as the main guy. There were times from 2018-2022 where Allen didn’t just have to throw the ball down the field, but he also had to take care of the running game to keep the Bills on the field.
During the 2022 NFL Draft, the Bills managed to acquire Georgia running back James Cook late in the second round, and little did fans know that Buffalo had just drafted their next franchise running back.
As the younger brother of Dalvin Cook who was one of the best during his time with the Minnesota Vikings, there were high hopes on the type of player James could be. With Devin Singletary still in the backfield, Cook’s production wasn’t anything super special but he still managed to rush for over 500 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cook’s first carry of his NFL career actually resulted in a fumble, but he has clearly bounced back from that mistake.
Since his rookie season, Cook has rushed for three consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons. He led the league in rushing touchdowns in 2024 (16) and then led the league in rushing yards in 2026 (1,621) and yet he still managed to rush for 12 touchdowns.
Despite the last two major years of production that have featured him at the top in different categories, an AFC running back power rankings list by Lou Scataglia of NFL Spin Zone has fans having mixed emotions about Cook's placement.
James Cook's placement on recent power rankings list is questionable
On Scataglia’s rankings, Cook is placed at No. 3 behind Derrick Henry and Johnathan Taylor, both who are clear-cut dominant running backs in the league for sure. At the same time, Cook has climbed the ladder in the league and has been at the top of two major running back categories the last two seasons.
"Not necessarily an overwhelming talent at the position, Cook does benefit from an elite Buffalo offensive line, but he's sustained high-end production for three years now and is only set to play in his age-27 season in 2026." said Scataglia.
To Scataglia’s point, the Bills have had the same offensive line the last two seasons. That will now change with David Edwards being with the New Orleans Saints. At the same time though, there have been plenty of times where Cook has made plays out of nothing. Sometimes an extra defender blitzes or a block is missed, yet Cook still found a way to reach the second or even third level.
Another factor about Cook’s game that stands out more than both Henry and Taylor is his ability to catch passes out of the backfield. Cook has been the more consistent pass-catching back than both Taylor and Henry have throughout their careers.
Placing Cook third on this list is certainly not the worst, especially when you consider who is ahead of him. At the same time, he’s had better production in some categories the last two seasons than both of them and he has proven to be the best pure back the Bills have had since LeSean McCoy.
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