James Cook III or D'Andre Swift: who should I start in Week 5?

Where the draft room stands

Drafters have formed no consensus on James Cook III: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 21st overall on the rest of his evidence.

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

Drafters have formed no consensus on D'Andre Swift: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 36th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In standard drafts he goes at ADP 13.

What the player markets price

The market has James Cook III at 16.5 PPR points a game off 4 markets across 15 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.

The player markets price D'Andre Swift at 13.4 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 14 market sources. That is the 52nd highest figure of the 184 players the market prices.

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, 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.

Through Week 4, D'Andre Swift has been on the field for 56 percent of CHI snaps, taken 45 percent of the carries, drawn 9 percent of the targets and had 31 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 3 of the offence's 33 third down targets, had 8 of its 21 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 21 two minute targets.

His 11 targets have come 2.2 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.

In Week 2 against MIN he carried 16 times for 45 yards, caught 5 of 5 targets for 54 yards and did not score.

In Week 3 against PHI he carried 20 times for 84 yards, caught 2 of 3 targets for 4 yards and did not score.

In Week 4 against NYJ he carried 15 times for 58 yards, caught 2 of 2 targets for 16 yards and did not score.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

In 2025 D'Andre Swift played 16 games and scored 228.6 PPR points, 14.3 a game, finishing RB15.

He carried 223 times for 1087 yards and 9 touchdowns, and caught 34 of 48 targets for 299 more yards.

That came to 13.9 carries a game at 4.9 yards a carry and 2.1 catches a game.

He was on the field for 58 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

James Cook III was available for 1 game more.

Head to head

In 2025 James Cook III scored 17.8 PPR points a game and D'Andre Swift 14.3, 3.5 a game between them.

James Cook III finished RB6 that year and D'Andre Swift RB15.

James Cook III had 86 more carries than D'Andre Swift, 309 to 223.

D'Andre Swift had 1 more catches than James Cook III, 34 to 33.

This season James Cook III holds the bigger snap share, 68 percent against 56 percent.

This season James Cook III holds the bigger share of the carries, 67 percent against 45 percent.

Byes and availability

James Cook III is off in Week 7 and D'Andre Swift in Week 10, so either can cover the other's bye.

D'Andre Swift is listed as questionable on the injury report.

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.