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James Cook III

Pos: RB1 Team: BUF YoE: 4
Draft: RD 2, PICK 63
Injury Status: H

I. Player News & Analysis

ESPN

RotoWire

Trends

"McCarthy is entering his de facto rookie campaign after a knee injury cost the 2024 10th overall pick his entire first season in the pros. McCarthy is expected to start in a QB-friendly Kevin O'Connell scheme loaded with targets (Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson) that helped Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins to top-12 fantasy campaigns (PPG) during each of O'Connell's three seasons in Minnesota. All three offenses were pass-heavy and scored at least 80% of their TDs through the air. A 22-year-old with no NFL experience, McCarthy is an obvious unknown, but he can add some value with his legs and is well positioned for a productive first season. He's an attractive late-round sleeper target."

"Unfortunately for McCarthy, his 10th career start came to an early end, as he attempted just one pass in the second half before informing head coach Kevin O'Connell that the small hairline fracture in his throwing hand was presenting issues with gripping the football. After having his entire 2024 rookie season wiped out by a meniscus tear in his right knee, McCarthy missed seven total games in 2025 due to a right high-ankle sprain, a concussion and then the fractured hand. When available, he showed strong scrambling ability (181 rushing yards and four TDs), but he still has a long way to go as a passer. On the season, McCarthy completed just 57.6 percent of his throws for 6.7 yards per attempt and an 11:12 TD:INT, and he also took 27 sacks on 270 dropbacks (10 percent sack rate) while fumbling six times, losing two. The 22-year-old will tentatively head into 2026 atop Minnesota's depth chart, but Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Sunday that the Vikings are expected to explore more established options at quarterback via trade or free agency this offseason, potentially forcing McCarthy to compete for the starting job in training camp."

	J.J. McCarthy's passing yards per attempt has increased by 72.85% over the past 6 weeks.
	J.J. McCarthy's sacks have increased by 300+% over the past 6 weeks.
	J.J. McCarthy's passing touchdowns have increased by 150.0% over the past 6 weeks.
	J.J. McCarthy's total touchdowns have increased by 250.0% over the past 6 weeks.
	J.J. McCarthy's total points have increased by 250.0% over the past 6 weeks.

James Cook III

Pos: RB1 Team: BUF YoE: 4
Draft: RD 2, PICK 63
Injury Status: H

I. Player News & Analysis

ESPN

RotoWire

Trends

"Three. That's the number of wide receivers selected before Thomas in the 2024 draft and it's also the number of wide receivers who outscored him in fantasy during his rookie season. The LSU product finished in the top 5 among receivers in both yards and TDs despite ranking 29th in routes and 19th in targets. Thomas' volume will need to increase in Year 2 in order to sustain WR1 fantasy production and, while it's reasonable to expect that boost, it's worth noting he had six 10-plus target games with backup Mac Jones (22.9 fantasy PPG those six weeks) but zero with starter Trevor Lawrence (14.4). The bottom line is Thomas appears to be the real deal and, even with Travis Hunter added to the mix, he has a path to a massive target share in a Liam Coen scheme that was extremely generous to Tampa Bay's wide receivers. Thomas is a good back-end WR1 target."

"Thomas was involved in the game early, earning three targets on the team's first four offensive possessions. However, he then exited the game to be evaluated for a concussion and missed nearly the entire second quarter. Jacksonville then pulled its starters early in the fourth quarter, meaning Thomas played only around half of the game. While that would explain his limited output, this was one of Thomas' more productive performances of late, marking only the third time in his last six matchups that he's topped 40 receiving yards. It was a very disappointing sophomore campaign for Thomas, as he ended the regular season with 707 receiving yards and only two touchdowns across 14 games."

	Brian Thomas Jr.'s target share has decreased by 41.28% over the past 16 weeks.
	Brian Thomas Jr.'s receiving yards have decreased by 27.65% over the past 6 weeks.
	Brian Thomas Jr.'s targets have decreased by 35.42% over the past 12 weeks.
	Brian Thomas Jr.'s receiving touchdowns have increased by 100% over the past 6 weeks.
	Brian Thomas Jr.'s total yards have decreased by 63.53% over the past 6 weeks.

James Cook III

Pos: RB1 Team: BUF YoE: 4
Draft: RD 2, PICK 63
Injury Status: H

I. Player News & Analysis

ESPN

RotoWire

Trends

"Cook enters his fourth NFL season as one of the trickiest evaluations in fantasy. On one hand, Cook operates in a three-headed committee (albeit as the starter), which limited his carries (19th among RBs last season), targets (34th), touches (22nd) and total yardage (21st) last season. On the other, he's an explosive playmaker (4.87 YPC) in an elite offense who tied for the NFL lead 16 rushing touchdowns in 16 regular season games last season. Cook is obviously a strong bet for touchdown regression to the mean (especially considering he had nine TDs during his first two seasons), but the 25-year-old gets enough run in a great offense to produce starting-caliber fantasy numbers. Value him as a fringe top-15 back."

"Cook notched carries of 10 yards and five yards on the game's first two plays before letting Ray Davis and Ty Johnson split Buffalo's backfield workload the rest of the way. Despite Cook's limited workload in the regular-season finale, he'll finish as the league leader in rushing yards unless Derrick Henry gains at least 153 rushing yards in Sunday's game against the Steelers. The Bills earned the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs and will go on the road against the Jaguars in the wild-card round."

	James Cook III's rushing touchdowns have increased by 300.0% over the past 6 weeks.
	James Cook III's targets have increased by 70.0% over the past 12 weeks.
	James Cook III's total touchdowns have increased by 300+% over the past 6 weeks.
	James Cook III's total points have increased by 300+% over the past 6 weeks.
	James Cook III's receiving yards have decreased by 68.83% over the past 6 weeks.

II. Historical Performance

Season

Week

Home

Score

Away

ATT

YD

TD

FUM

YPA

RUSH SHARE

2025

18

GB

3 - 16

MIN

2.0

7.0

0.0

0.0

3.5

0.065

2025

16

MIN

16 - 13

NYG

2.0

20.0

1.0

1.0

10.0

0.065

2025

15

MIN

34 - 26

DAL

4.0

15.0

1.0

0.0

3.75

0.143

2025

14

WSH

0 - 31

MIN

6.0

19.0

0.0

0.0

3.17

0.176

2025

12

MIN

6 - 23

GB

2.0

10.0

0.0

0.0

5.0

0.1

2025

11

CHI

19 - 17

MIN

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

10

BAL

27 - 19

MIN

5.0

48.0

0.0

0.0

9.6

0.278

2025

9

MIN

27 - 24

DET

9.0

12.0

1.0

0.0

1.33

0.31

2025

2

ATL

22 - 6

MIN

5.0

25.0

0.0

1.0

5.0

0.263

2025

1

MIN

27 - 24

CHI

2.0

25.0

1.0

0.0

12.5

0.077

II. Historical Performance

Season

Week

Home

Score

Away

ATT

YD

TD

FUM

YPA

RUSH SHARE

2025

18

TEN

7 - 41

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

17

JAX

23 - 17

IND

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

16

JAX

34 - 20

DEN

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

15

NYJ

20 - 48

JAX

1.0

5.0

0.0

0.0

5.0

0.037

2025

14

IND

19 - 36

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

13

JAX

25 - 3

TEN

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

9

JAX

30 - 29

LV

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

7

LAR

35 - 7

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

6

SEA

20 - 12

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

5

KC

28 - 31

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

4

JAX

26 - 21

SF

1.0

7.0

0.0

0.0

7.0

0.031

2025

3

HOU

10 - 17

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0

0.0

2025

2

JAX

27 - 31

CIN

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2025

1

CAR

10 - 26

JAX

1.0

9.0

1.0

0.0

9.0

0.031

2024

18

JAX

23 - 26

IND

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

17

TEN

13 - 20

JAX

1.0

18.0

0.0

0.0

18.0

0.03

2024

16

JAX

14 - 19

LV

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

15

NYJ

32 - 25

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

14

JAX

10 - 6

TEN

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

13

HOU

23 - 20

JAX

1.0

11.0

0.0

0.0

11.0

0.04

2024

11

JAX

6 - 52

DET

1.0

4.0

0.0

0.0

4.0

0.059

2024

10

MIN

12 - 7

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

9

JAX

23 - 28

PHI

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

8

GB

30 - 27

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

7

NE

16 - 32

JAX

2.0

2.0

0.0

0.0

1.0

0.051

2024

6

JAX

16 - 35

CHI

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

5

IND

34 - 37

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

4

JAX

20 - 24

HOU

1.0

13.0

0.0

0.0

13.0

0.042

2024

3

JAX

10 - 47

BUF

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

2

CLE

18 - 13

JAX

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

2024

1

JAX

17 - 20

MIA

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0