Start James Cook III or Bhayshul Tuten? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 8:11 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start James Cook III over Bhayshul Tuten

Start

James Cook III

RB · BUF · vs BAL

Market projects: 16.8; fantasy pts
BAL D vs RB: 18.5; 5th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 82 of 100 at RB

Sit

Bhayshul Tuten

RB · JAX · vs IND

Market projects: 15.6; fantasy pts
IND D vs RB: 22.0; 13th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 63 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 56%; Through Week 6
Target share: 8%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Bhayshul Tuten for James Cook III?

Yes, on the rest of the season. James Cook III projects 162 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.2 a game over 10 games), Bhayshul Tuten 120 (12.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Bhayshul Tuten, 16.8 to 15.6 projected PPR points.

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Our Week 8 call

Start James Cook III over Bhayshul Tuten in Week 8.

Market-based projections have James Cook III at 16.8 points and Bhayshul Tuten at 15.6, a gap of 1.3. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Bhayshul Tuten'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. Drafters take James Cook III at ADP 9 and Bhayshul Tuten at 53.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.8 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for James Cook III is 89 rushing yards, 10 receiving yards, 1-2 receptions and 0.9 touchdowns (8, 8, 7 and 12 market sources).

Player markets imply 15.6 fantasy points for Bhayshul Tuten, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Bhayshul Tuten is 62 rushing yards and 0.7 touchdowns (6 and 8 market sources).

That puts James Cook III 1.3 points ahead of Bhayshul Tuten on the market 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.

Bhayshul Tuten and JAX host IND on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

IND allowed 22.0 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 13th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 96 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against IND and caught passes for 39 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Bhayshul Tuten has the softer matchup.

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Bhayshul Tuten is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 6, Bhayshul Tuten played 56 percent of JAX snaps, took 58 percent of the carries, drew 8 percent of the targets and had 31 percent of the red zone chances.

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.

Bhayshul Tuten, Week 5 against PHI: 49 of 72 snaps, 22 carries for 72 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 24 yards.

Bhayshul Tuten, Week 6 against HOU: 41 of 71 snaps, 12 carries for 39 yards, 4 targets and 4 catches for 48 yards, 2 touchdowns.

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 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 Bhayshul Tuten for James Cook III?
Yes, on the rest of the season. James Cook III projects 162 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.2 a game over 10 games), Bhayshul Tuten 120 (12.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Bhayshul Tuten, 16.8 to 15.6 projected PPR points.
Should I drop James Cook III for Bhayshul Tuten?
No. Keep James Cook III: he projects 162 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.2 a game over 10 games), Bhayshul Tuten 120 (12.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Bhayshul Tuten, 16.8 to 15.6 projected PPR points.

Should I drop Bhayshul Tuten?