Mojo Player Spotlight: James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills

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Moves aren’t made in a vacuum, and moves aren’t made with eyes only on the coming season. The 49ers drafted Trey Lance in 2021 with little to no designs on playing him in 2021, but with eyes on playing him in 2022 and for a long time beyond. That so far has not worked out, but the point is that moves aren’t always made with a design on the next game or next season.

Which brings us to the Bills.

Even as the Bills have become an NFL powerhouse, the team has not gotten much production from the running back position. The Bills ranked 23rd of 32 teams in RB fantasy scoring in 2021, and that was actually a huge improvement – Buffalo was 31st, 30th and 31st in 2018-2020. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, because the offense has become one of the league’s best with Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. That said, the Bills appeared determined to do something about it this offseason.

The Bills agreed to terms with J.D. McKissic this offseason in free agency, only for McKissic to change his mind and return to Washington. They also signed Duke Johnson, and just a few weeks ago they traded for Nyheim Hines at the deadline.

But the most significant move the Bills made came in the draft, when the Bills spent a second-round pick on Georgia product James Cook.

Mojo Spotlight: James Cook

It’s fair to debate how much this matters, but Cook obviously has some of the most impressive pedigree a back can have, as the brother of Minnesota Vikings star RB Dalvin Cook. They have more similarity than just the last name, though. They have similar running styles, which obviously bodes well. That said, James Cook is a bit smaller than his brother, which had most projecting him as a passing-down back in the NFL. 

A funny thing has happened the last few weeks, though. After some sparse use early in the year (other than an 11-carry Week 2, Cook hadn’t topped 4 carries in a game through Week 6 and only had one game with more than 1 target), Cook came out of the Bills’ Week 7 bye with a new role in the offense, and it wasn’t as the pass-catching back. For the year, he’s still at only 7 receptions on 14 targets. But after averaging barely 3 carries a game before the bye, Cook has had 6.3 carries a game over the last month, going from 16.2 rushing yards per game to 39.8, including an 11-carry, 86-yard outing against the Browns Sunday in Week 11. Even with Hines on the team, Cook saw his biggest workload of the season. Now, his Mojo stock price sits at $4.73 after sitting in the $4.50 range a week ago.

Going Forward

Whether something is a buy high depends on scope. Yes, Cook’s stock price is about a quarter above where it was a week ago. But it’s 11 cents below where it was on Halloween, and it’s $1.50 below where it hovered through the summer and training camp. Everyone thought there was some fun value to the younger Cook a few months ago, and now that he’s starting to show it (remember, rookies often take a while to develop), you can get him at a discounted price.

Devin Singletary remains the No. 1 back in Buffalo. That’s unlikely to change the rest of this season barring injury. But remember, moves aren’t always made for the short term. Singletary is a free agent after the year, and the next rumor of a possible extension for him will be the first. Zack Moss left for Indianapolis in the Hines trade. Hines is signed through 2024, but (a) there’s an easy out to the contract after this year, and (b) even if he sticks around, Hines hasn’t had a game with double-digit carries since Week 12 of 2020 and has never had more than 15 carries in a game. He’s never going to be a No. 1. Cook, and with the way his usage has increased lately, he might be the Bills’ No. 1 back to start next season.