How does James Cook follow his rushing title season?

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 12: James Cook #4 of the Buffalo Bills scores a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter in the game at Hard Rock Stadium on September 12, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Buffalo Bills were the top rushing team in the NFL last season, leading the league in total carries (547), rushing yards (2,714), and rushing touchdowns (30). They also tied for the league lead in total first downs rushing, notching 146 first downs to lead the league with the Baltimore Ravens.

Buffalo also led the league in another, less positive category, as they fumbled 12 times on rushing plays. Their top running back had six of those fumbles, and while he was the NFL's leading rusher, he also turned the ball over more than the team would have liked. Does that mean they should have given him the ball less? Absolutely not. However, it does point to an area where he can improve moving forward.

In today's edition of 91 players in 91 days," we discuss the NFL's leading rusher in 2025.
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Name:James Cook III

Number:4

Position:RB

Height/Weight:5'11" 190 lbs.

Age:26 (27 on 9/25/2026)

Experience/Draft:5; selected by Buffalo in the second round (No. 63 overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft)

College:Georgia

Acquired:Second-round draft choice

Financial situation (per Spotrac):Cook III enters the first year of the four-year, $46 million extension he signed prior to last season. He carries a cap hit of $5.88 million this season. Buffalo would carry a dead cap charge of $22.83 million if he were to be released.

2025 Recap:After an offseason where Cook III expressed displeasure over his contract, he signed a new deal and immediately went out and showed that he was worth it. Cook became the first Buffalo player since O.J. Simpson in 1976 to lead the NFL in rushing, as he set career-highs in carries (309) and rushing yards (1,621). He hit double-figures in rushing touchdowns for the second straight year, scoring on 12 runs. And, while his passing game usage still felt like it could be a greater asset, he saw 40 targets on the season, catching 33 passes for 291 yards and two scores. Cook also played on a career-high 639 offensive snaps in the regular season, which represented a career-high total of 56% of the team's total snaps. In the playoffs, Cook III remained outstanding, though he was much less efficient. He carried 39 times for 163 yards, averaging a full yard per carry less than he did in the regular season (4.2 yards per carry in the postseason as opposed to 5.2 yards per carry in the regular season). With that increase in touches, though, came an increase in fumbles. He fumbled a career-high seven times, including six fumbles in the regular season. He was named to the Pro Bowl Games for the third straight season, and he was Second-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career.

Positional outlook:Cook III is one of five running backs on the current roster. Ray Davis, Ty Johnson, Frank Gore Jr., and Ian Wheeler are the others. Ben VanSumeran is the team's only fullback.

2026 Offseason:Cook III is healthy and he has participated in both training camp practices and preseason action so far this summer.

2026 Season outlook:How will Cook's body react after touching the football 385 times last season in Buffalo's 19 games that counted? That's really the only question that needs answering, as Cook III had been babied" a bit in terms of his snap counts and his touches prior to last season, especially in comparison to the big jump in both categories that he took last season. He has earned every penny of his four-year, $46 million extension, and he's arguably outperformed it already given the recent explosion of running back contracts in the NFL. That's not to say that he should hold out, or that he will hold out, for a new deal, but it does show how prescient the move to sign him was when general manager Brandon Beane and Cook's agents agreed to the deal. It also might be a little crazy given that this is technically the first year in which he's playing under its terms, but I digress.

Cook III had 299 touches between the regular season and postseason in 2024, and he had 325 total touches during the 2023 regular season and postseason combined. That's a lot of punishment over a three-year span, and a nearly 100-touch jump year over year is quite a lot. Cook III has shown a penchant for avoiding big hits throughout his career, which bodes well for his continued durability, but I do wonder if he'll see fewer carries this season in an attempt to manage the beating he takes just a bit. Head coach Joe Brady called him the league's best running back, and has said that he expects Buffalo's top rusher to take another step forward this season. Whether that step includes more usage in the passing game is yet to be seen, but we can assume that is where the step will be taken this year.

Whatever the Bills do, though, they need to continue involving No. 4 in the offense. He is a dynamic runner no matter how the Bills put the ball in his hands. If he can clean up the fumbles that appeared last season, he can be even better than he was last year. Cook III is an elite running back, and a top-flight offensive weapon on a team that continues to be one of the league's best scoring offenses. I expect that he'll have lower total numbers this season, but hopefully the trade-off is that he remains just as efficient with a slight reduction in touches.