Start James Cook III or Ashton Jeanty? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 2:26 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty

Start

James Cook III

RB · BUF · vs BAL

Market projects: 15.7; recent weeks avg
BAL D vs RB: 18.5; 5th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 77 of 100 at RB

Sit

Ashton Jeanty

RB · LV · at NYJ

Market projects: 15.5; recent weeks avg
NYJ D vs RB: 21.4; 16th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 75 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 70%; Through Week 7
Target share: 17%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Ashton Jeanty for James Cook III?

Yes, on the rest of the season. James Cook III projects 160 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.0 a game over 10 games), Ashton Jeanty 146 (16.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty.

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Our Week 8 call

Start James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty in Week 8.

Market-based projections have James Cook III at 15.7 points and Ashton Jeanty at 15.5, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for James Cook III this week yet, so his 15.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (14.5 and 16.8); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Ashton Jeanty this week yet, so his 15.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (14.4, 16.1 and 16.0); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take James Cook III at ADP 9 and Ashton Jeanty at 25.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for James Cook III yet. His market-based projections were 14.5 and 16.8 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 15.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for James Cook III is 0.9 touchdowns (7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Ashton Jeanty yet. His market-based projections were 14.5, 16.1 and 16.0 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 15.5, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Ashton Jeanty is 0.8 touchdowns (6 market sources).

That puts James Cook III 0.1 points ahead of Ashton Jeanty on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

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

BAL allowed 18.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 77 yards and 0.9 touchdowns a game against BAL and caught passes for 15 more yards.

Ashton Jeanty and LV visit NYJ on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

NYJ allowed 21.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 16th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 107 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against NYJ and caught passes for 22 more yards.

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

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Ashton Jeanty is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Ashton Jeanty played 70 percent of LV snaps, took 64 percent of the carries, drew 17 percent of the targets and had 44 percent of the red zone chances.

Ashton Jeanty, Week 4 against KC: 56 of 84 snaps, 15 carries for 58 yards, 8 targets and 6 catches for 68 yards.

Ashton Jeanty, Week 5 against NE: 32 of 60 snaps, 10 carries for 27 yards, 6 targets and 3 catches for 50 yards.

Ashton Jeanty, Week 6 against BUF: 38 of 66 snaps, 10 carries for 22 yards, 6 targets and 4 catches for 36 yards, 1 touchdown.

Ashton Jeanty, Week 7 against LAR: 49 of 68 snaps, 8 carries for 15 yards, 8 targets and 8 catches for 61 yards, 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

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.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Ashton Jeanty for James Cook III?
Yes, on the rest of the season. James Cook III projects 160 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.0 a game over 10 games), Ashton Jeanty 146 (16.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty.
Should I drop James Cook III for Ashton Jeanty?
No. Keep James Cook III: he projects 160 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.0 a game over 10 games), Ashton Jeanty 146 (16.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty.

Should I drop Ashton Jeanty?