Start James Cook III or Bhayshul Tuten? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start James Cook III over Bhayshul Tuten in Week 5.

Market-based projections have James Cook III at 18.6 points and Bhayshul Tuten at 12.8, a gap of 5.9. James Cook III's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. Market coverage on James Cook III is 70 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 18.6 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has James Cook III at 75.5 rushing yards, with a 53% chance to score a touchdown (4 and 6 market sources).

Player markets imply 12.8 fantasy points for Bhayshul Tuten, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has Bhayshul Tuten at 58.5 rushing yards, 9.5 receiving yards and 1.5 receptions, with a 52% chance to score a touchdown (12, 11, 11 and 7 market sources).

That puts James Cook III 5.9 points ahead of Bhayshul Tuten on the market projections.

Week 5 matchups

James Cook III and BUF visit LAR on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

LAR allowed 15.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 4 games, the 3rd fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 82 yards and no touchdowns a game against LAR and caught passes for 26 more yards.

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Bhayshul Tuten is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, Bhayshul Tuten played 52 percent of JAX snaps, took 56 percent of the carries, drew 7 percent of the targets and had 31 percent of the red zone chances.

Bhayshul Tuten, Week 1 against CLE: 28 of 57 snaps, 15 carries for 66 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 22 yards.

Bhayshul Tuten, Week 2 against DEN: 30 of 59 snaps, 13 carries for 65 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for -3 yards, 1 touchdown.

Bhayshul Tuten, Week 3 against NE: 30 of 62 snaps, 15 carries for 73 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 17 yards, 1 touchdown.

Bhayshul Tuten, Week 4 against CIN: 36 of 61 snaps, 17 carries for 73 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 18 yards.

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, Bhayshul Tuten played 15 games for JAX and scored 88.6 PPR points, 5.9 a game, finishing RB53.

He ran 83 times for 307 yards and 5 touchdowns, and caught 10 of 14 targets for 79 yards.

He was on the field for 21 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start James Cook III over Aaron Jones Sr..
• Start James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Bijan Robinson over James Cook III.
• Start Aaron Jones Sr. over Bhayshul Tuten.
• Start Bhayshul Tuten over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Bhayshul Tuten over Blake Corum.