Puka Nacua or James Cook III: who should I start in Week 6?

Where the draft room stands

Drafters have formed no consensus on Puka Nacua: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 48th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 6.

Drafters have formed no consensus on James Cook III: he carries no ADP, and the board ranks him 50th overall on the rest of his evidence.

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

What the player markets price

The market has Puka Nacua at 6.1 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's price needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market has James Cook III at 6.1 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 30 percent of what a running back's price needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Puka Nacua's price is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 5

Through Week 5, Puka Nacua has been on the field for 82 percent of LAR snaps, drawn 34 percent of the targets and had 17 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 13 of the offence's 31 third down targets, had 3 of its 13 chances inside the five and seen 5 of its 16 two minute targets.

His 45 targets have averaged 9.7 air yards.

In Week 1 against SF he caught 5 of 9 targets for 74 yards and did not score.

In Week 4 against PHI he carried 1 time for 2 yards, caught 9 of 12 targets for 125 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 5 against BUF he carried 2 times for 9 yards, caught 17 of 24 targets for 138 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Through Week 5, James Cook III has been on the field for 68 percent of BUF snaps, taken 67 percent of the carries, drawn 8 percent of the targets and had 40 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 0 of the offence's 35 third down targets, had 7 of its 18 chances inside the five and seen 1 of its 24 two minute targets.

His 11 targets have come 0.5 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average.

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.

In Week 5 against LAR he carried 25 times for 111 yards, caught 1 of 1 target for 7 yards and scored 2 touchdowns.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Puka Nacua played 16 games and scored 375.0 PPR points, 23.4 a game, finishing WR1.

He caught 129 of 166 targets for 1715 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 16 red zone targets.

That came to 10.4 targets a game, a 78 percent catch rate and 13.3 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 68 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 1 game more.

Side by side

In 2025 Puka Nacua scored 23.4 PPR points a game and James Cook III 17.8, 5.7 a game between them.

Puka Nacua finished WR1 and James Cook III RB6, which are two different ladders.

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

Byes and availability

Puka Nacua is off in Week 11 and James Cook III in Week 7, so either can cover the other's bye.