James Cook III or Josh Jacobs: who to draft first
Both players' season price from the sportsbooks, their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, with the draft market's own figures wherever it still has them.
Updated Sep 19, 2026 at 10:06 AM ET
Neither is in the consensus draft sample any more, and no sportsbook prices either of them this season, so there is no current market order to give between these two. What follows is what each of them has already done.
More fantasy football tools and rankings, all priced from the same board.
RB51 · BUF · bye 7
2025 vs anytime td line 9-8
- Overall rank
- 186
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 13
RB53 · GB · bye 11
2025 vs rush yds line 8-7
- Overall rank
- 205
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 13
The gap
- Pick differencenot comparable without a consensus on both
- Board size242 draftable players
Consensus average draft position has stopped updating on these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out rather than printed stale. The verdict line above restates the sportsbooks' price and nothing else.
Where the draft room stands
Drafters have formed no consensus on James Cook III: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 186th overall on the rest of his evidence.
By format he goes standard: ADP 2; 2QB: ADP 13.
Drafters have formed no consensus on Josh Jacobs: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 205th overall on the rest of his evidence.
In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 62.
What the sportsbooks price
No sportsbook has posted a season market for James Cook III, so the only market pricing him on this page is the draft room.
No sportsbook has posted a season market for Josh Jacobs, so the only market pricing him on this page is the draft room.
Neither carries a posted market, so this page rests on the draft room and on what the two have already done.
This season through Week 1
Through Week 1, James Cook III has been on the field for 72 percent of BUF snaps, taken 65 percent of the carries, drawn 14 percent of the targets and had 43 percent of the red zone chances.
He has taken 0 of the offence's 8 third down targets, had 0 of its 2 chances inside the five and seen 0 of its 6 two minute targets.
His 4 targets have come 1.0 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.
In Week 1 against HOU he carried 13 times for 57 yards, caught 3 of 4 targets for 12 yards and did not score.
The usage feed holds no snap or target counts for Josh Jacobs this season.
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 Josh Jacobs played 15 games and scored 237.1 PPR points, 15.8 a game, finishing RB13.
He carried 234 times for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns, and caught 36 of 44 targets for 282 more yards.
That came to 15.6 carries a game at 4.0 yards a carry and 2.4 catches a game.
He was on the field for 59 percent of the snaps in the games he played.
James Cook III was available for 2 games more.
Head to head
In 2025 James Cook III scored 17.8 PPR points a game and Josh Jacobs 15.8, 2.0 a game between them.
James Cook III finished RB6 that year and Josh Jacobs RB13.
James Cook III had 75 more carries than Josh Jacobs, 309 to 234.
Josh Jacobs had 3 more catches than James Cook III, 36 to 33.
Byes and availability
James Cook III is off in Week 7 and Josh Jacobs in Week 11, so either can cover the other's bye.
Josh Jacobs is listed as na on the injury report.
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