Aaron Jones Sr. or James Cook III: who should I start in Week 5?

Where the draft room stands

Drafters have formed no consensus on Aaron Jones Sr.: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 16th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Drafters have formed no consensus on James Cook III: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 18th overall on the rest of his evidence.

By format he goes standard: ADP 2; 2QB: ADP 10.

What the player markets price

The player markets price Aaron Jones Sr. at 17.0 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 14 market sources. That is the 20th highest figure of the 183 players the market prices.

The market has James Cook III at 16.6 PPR points a game off 4 markets across 14 market sources. That is 80 percent of what a running back's price needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

James Cook III's price is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 4

Through Week 4, Aaron Jones Sr. has been on the field for 69 percent of MIN snaps, taken 65 percent of the carries, drawn 15 percent of the targets and had 38 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 4 of the offence's 42 third down targets, had 1 of its 2 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 9 two minute targets.

His 15 targets have come 0.1 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.

In Week 2 against CHI he carried 23 times for 105 yards and did not score.

In Week 3 against TB he carried 17 times for 58 yards, caught 5 of 6 targets for 34 yards and did not score.

In Week 4 against MIA he carried 20 times for 94 yards, caught 4 of 8 targets for 34 yards and did not score.

Through Week 4, James Cook III has been on the field for 68 percent of BUF snaps, taken 67 percent of the carries, drawn 9 percent of the targets and had 38 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 0 of the offence's 31 third down targets, had 4 of its 13 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 22 two minute targets.

His 10 targets have come 0.8 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.

In Week 2 against DET he carried 21 times for 135 yards, caught 1 of 3 targets for 4 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 3 against LAC he carried 24 times for 154 yards, caught 0 of 1 target for 0 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 4 against NE he carried 12 times for 75 yards, caught 2 of 2 targets for 8 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Aaron Jones Sr. played 12 games and scored 118.7 PPR points, 9.9 a game, finishing RB41.

He carried 132 times for 548 yards and 2 touchdowns, and caught 28 of 41 targets for 199 more yards.

That came to 11.0 carries a game at 4.2 yards a carry and 2.3 catches a game.

He was on the field for 55 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 James Cook III played 17 games and scored 302.2 PPR points, 17.8 a game, finishing RB6.

He carried 309 times for 1621 yards and 12 touchdowns, and caught 33 of 40 targets for 291 more yards.

That came to 18.2 carries a game at 5.2 yards a carry and 1.9 catches a game.

He was on the field for 60 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

James Cook III was available for 5 games more.

Head to head

In 2025 James Cook III scored 17.8 PPR points a game and Aaron Jones Sr. 9.9, 7.9 a game between them.

Aaron Jones Sr. finished RB41 that year and James Cook III RB6.

James Cook III had 177 more carries than Aaron Jones Sr., 309 to 132.

James Cook III had 5 more catches than Aaron Jones Sr., 33 to 28.

This season Aaron Jones Sr. holds the bigger snap share, 69 percent against 68 percent.

This season James Cook III holds the bigger share of the carries, 67 percent against 65 percent.

Byes and availability

Aaron Jones Sr. is off in Week 6 and James Cook III in Week 7, so either can cover the other's bye.

What would change the answer

James Cook III is only part priced, so the market half of this page is whole for only one of them.