The Buffalo Bills cruised to an easy win in Week 8. Buffalo demolished Carolina 40-9 in a game where James Cook had the best performance of his career. Now the star running back is gaining a ton of hype related to his fantasy football value.
ESPN's Dan Graziano made a handful of bold takes in an article published on Monday. Among his fantasy football-related takes was one spicy declaration about the Bills.
Graziano declared that Cook is more valuable in fantasy football than Josh Allen.
“James Cook III, not Josh Allen, is the most valuable Bills fantasy player. NOT AN OVERREACTION,” Graziano wrote on Monday. “Love Allen, but an RB who can get you 200-plus yards in a game is fantasy gold. No reason to expect Cook to slow down the rest of the way, barring injury. And Allen will be happy to keep handing it to him.”
Cook logged 19 carries for 216 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Panthers. That put him up with Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor as an elite fantasy back for Week 8.
Meanwhile, Allen only went 12-of-19 passing for 163 yards and one touchdown. But he did add three rushes for seven yards and two touchdowns, which helped rescue his fantasy value.
Cook was clearly more valuable on Sunday. But will that be the case moving forward?
Is James Cook really move valuable than Josh Allen in fantasy football?
Was Week 8 an outlier, or has Cook really become an elite fantasy football asset overnight?
Graziano's argument is not as clear cut when expanding the sample size beyond just Week 8. When looking at fantasy points per game, Allen (22.4) has an advantage over Cook (19.7). Those are based on ESPN's PPR scoring rules.
Allen is the QB7 on the season, whereas Cook is the RB7. Both are clearly valuable, but how is it possible to directly compare the two?
The answer here will depending greatly on the league structure and format. It all comes down to fantasy football fundamentals.
In a one quarterback league, it is easy to argue that Cook is more valuable because all quarterbacks (relatively) replaceable. Meanwhile, Allen is the clear choice in superflex leagues because the quarterback position is more valuable.
This conversation is also a bit late to have in redraft leagues. However, Allen may still be the better choice in dynasty and keeper leagues because of his long-term stability as Buffalo's starting quarterback.
Ultimately, both Allen and Cook are great fantasy football assets. But it is hard to compare apples and oranges here.
