James Cook III or Michael Wilson: 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 20th overall on the rest of his evidence.

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

Drafters have formed no consensus on Michael Wilson: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 22nd overall on the rest of his evidence.

What the player markets price

The market has James Cook III at 16.6 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 Michael Wilson at 15.9 PPR points a game, built from 4 markets across 16 market sources. That is the 35th highest figure of the 185 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, Michael Wilson has been on the field for 91 percent of ARI snaps, drawn 30 percent of the targets and had 19 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 11 of the offence's 37 third down targets, had 4 of its 16 chances inside the five and seen 13 of its 33 two minute targets.

His 44 targets have averaged 9.5 air yards.

In Week 2 against SEA he caught 2 of 7 targets for 18 yards and did not score.

In Week 3 against SF he caught 11 of 17 targets for 89 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 4 against NYG he caught 7 of 13 targets for 95 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 Michael Wilson played 17 games and scored 220.6 PPR points, 13.0 a game, finishing WR10.

He caught 78 of 126 targets for 1006 yards and 7 touchdowns, with 15 red zone targets.

That came to 7.4 targets a game, a 62 percent catch rate and 12.9 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 81 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Both were available for 17 games that season.

Side by side

In 2025 James Cook III scored 17.8 PPR points a game and Michael Wilson 13.0, 4.8 a game between them.

James Cook III finished RB6 and Michael Wilson WR10, which are two different ladders.

James Cook III is a running back and Michael Wilson a wide receiver, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

James Cook III is off in Week 7 and Michael Wilson in Week 14, 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.