Start Ashton Jeanty or James Cook III? Week 3

Our Week 3 call

Start James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty in Week 3.

De-vigged player props project James Cook III at 16.2 points and Ashton Jeanty at 17.0, a gap of 0.8. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Drafters take James Cook III at ADP 2 and Ashton Jeanty at 9.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 17.0 fantasy points for Ashton Jeanty, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The books have Ashton Jeanty at 68.5 rushing yards, 21.5 receiving yards and 3.5 receptions, with a 52% chance to score a touchdown (15, 13, 12 and 15 books).

Player prop markets imply 16.2 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The books have James Cook III at 79.5 rushing yards, 11.5 receiving yards and 1.5 receptions, with a 60% chance to score a touchdown (13, 15, 14 and 15 books).

That puts Ashton Jeanty 0.8 points ahead of James Cook III on the books.

Week 3 matchups

Ashton Jeanty and LV visit NO on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

NO allowed 29.0 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 2 games, the 6th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 119 yards and 1.5 touchdowns a game against NO and caught passes for 36 more yards.

James Cook III and BUF host LAC on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

LAC allowed 16.6 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 2 games, the 11th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 79 yards and 0.5 touchdowns a game against LAC and caught passes for 17 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Ashton Jeanty has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Ashton Jeanty is not on the injury report.

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 3

Through Week 2, Ashton Jeanty played 77 percent of LV snaps, took 73 percent of the carries, drew 22 percent of the targets and had 59 percent of the red zone chances.

Ashton Jeanty, Week 1 against MIA: 50 of 68 snaps, 23 carries for 102 yards, 6 targets and 6 catches for 45 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Ashton Jeanty, Week 2 against LAC: 51 of 63 snaps, 21 carries for 48 yards, 7 targets and 4 catches for 15 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Ashton Jeanty played 17 games for LV and scored 245.1 PPR points, 14.4 a game, finishing RB11.

He ran 266 times for 975 yards and 5 touchdowns, and caught 55 of 73 targets for 346 yards.

He was on the field for 76 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Ashton Jeanty, Week 18 of 2025 against KC: 26 carries for 87 yards, 5 targets and 3 catches for 7 yards, 12.4 PPR points.

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

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

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

James Cook III, Week 18 of 2025 against NYJ: 2 carries for 15 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1.5 PPR points.

James Cook III, Week 17 of 2025 against PHI: 39 of 76 snaps, 20 carries for 74 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 3 yards, 8.7 PPR points.

James Cook III, Week 16 of 2025 against CLE: 28 of 50 snaps, 16 carries for 117 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 17 yards, 2 touchdowns, 26.4 PPR points.

Their other Week 3 calls

• Start Chase Brown over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Chuba Hubbard over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start James Cook III over Chase Brown.
• Start James Cook III over Christian McCaffrey.
• Start James Cook III over Chuba Hubbard.