Josh Allen gets most of the credit for how well the Buffalo Bills have played over the last several seasons, and he deserves all of it. The Bills have won 36 of their last 51 regular-season games, and no quarterback has been as consistently good as Allen during that stretch.
However, James Cook deserves more respect for how good he’s been during that three-year stretch. Too often, the Bills are viewed (nationally) as a team led only by Josh Allen and that wasn’t the case. Cook has been one of the most valuable running backs in the league since 2023 and he still isn’t getting quite the level of respect that he deserves.
James Cook continues to be disrespected
In a recent article by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, he asked several NFL coaches, executives, scouts, and decision-makers to rank the top 10 running backs in the league going into the 2026 season. James Cook was obviously on the list, coming in at No. 7.
Cook led the NFL in rushing yards (1,621) and scored 14 touchdowns last year, but he was only able to move up one spot from his 2025 ranking. Here is what an anonymous AFC executive had to say about Cook after another stellar season:
"He has a three-down skill set, pass-game value, inside run ability and a speed threat on the outside. He has has become a complete player."
Over the last three seasons, Cook has racked up 4,746 yards from scrimmage, the fifth-most in the entire league. His 38 touchdowns during that span rank sixth among all players in the NFL. And yet, he can’t come anywhere close to cracking the top five running backs in the league.
Part of the reason why Cook is still ranked outside the top five is that NFL decision-makers are still ranking older veterans high despite not producing similar numbers to Cook. And there still appears to be some bias toward Cook because of the quarterback he plays next to in Buffalo’s offense.
Cook doesn’t have the household name of a Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, or a Saquon Barkley, but he’s outproduced all of them in 2025. And given how much younger he is than those three players, it seems likely that he’ll do it again in 2026.
Despite leading the league in rushing yards, he continues to be one of the most under-appreciated players in the NFL. Maybe it’ll take him leading the NFL in yards again to finally get the attention of the national media and the league. And maybe it won’t. Maybe that’s just the unintended consequences of playing alongside someone like Josh Allen.
But make no mistake about it: James Cook is one of the NFL’s best running backs and top offensive weapons. And if the Bills are going to finally get over the hump in 2026 and make it back to the Super Bowl, a big reason for that will be due to Cook and his ability to be a workhorse back.
Given how he’s produced over the last three seasons, we shouldn’t expect anything less than at least 1,600 yards from scrimmage and double-digit touchdowns. That’s the standard now for Cook in Buffalo.
Add us as a preferred source on Google