If you are having trouble setting up your fantasy lineups for Week 4 and you have Buffalo Bills’ running back James Cook, it might be best to bench him this week against the Miami Dolphins. While Cook has yet to reach the endzone this season, he has arguably worked his way up to a flex option with RB2 upside. However, this matchup against the Dolphins could limit his chances only because no one knows if the offense will be the same throughout the game.
Cook has carried the ball 44 times for 267 yards, while also adding on 10 catches for 67 yards. He is averaging 6 yards a carry and is getting about 14 carries per game. It’s not the most impressive numbers, but the run game the last two weeks has been more alive than it has since Josh Allen was drafted by the Bills. For the longest time, he was their run game and now Cook can take that pressure off of him and the offense.
Part of the reason why the Bills have managed to score the points they have is with their takeaways on defense, they can punch the ball into the red zone and eventually in for six points. When the Bills get into the red zone, Cook has a total of 8 carries for 22 yards. That is when Latavius Murray has been taking the touches and getting the touchdowns.
Unless the Bills decide to utilize a true running game to keep possession of the ball, in which they rank fifth across the league, they are going to pass the ball down the field for sure.
The Dolphins’ run defense has not allowed more than 88 yards rushing in the last two weeks and hasn’t allowed a touchdown run of more than two yards. As a matter of fact, their biggest defensive touchdown was a 12-yard pass, but then their special teams gave up a 99-yard kickoff touchdown return.
This isn’t to say that Cook can’t exceed expectations, but the numbers show that Cook could lose production if the Bills get into the red zone and especially if this game becomes high-scoring.