Start Bijan Robinson or James Cook III? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 1:26 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Bijan Robinson over James Cook III

Start

Bijan Robinson

RB · ATL · at TB

Market projects: 22.7; recent weeks avg
TB D vs RB: 17.8; 3rd fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 68 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 71%; Through Week 7
Target share: 17%; Through Week 7

Sit

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

Should I drop James Cook III for Bijan Robinson?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Bijan Robinson projects 199 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (22.1 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 160 (16.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bijan Robinson over James Cook III.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Bijan Robinson rookie cards

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

Sleeper ESPN Yahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 7am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

Our Week 8 call

Start Bijan Robinson over James Cook III in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Bijan Robinson at 22.7 points and James Cook III at 15.7, a gap of 7.0. No player market is posted for Bijan Robinson this week yet, so his 22.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (21.5, 23.2 and 23.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. 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. Drafters take Bijan Robinson at ADP 2 and James Cook III at 9.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Bijan Robinson yet. His market-based projections were 21.5, 23.2 and 23.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 22.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Bijan Robinson is 1 touchdown (7 market sources).

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).

That puts Bijan Robinson 7.0 points ahead of James Cook III on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Bijan Robinson and ATL visit TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 17.8 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 3rd fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 65 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against TB and caught passes for 37 more yards.

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.

By points allowed to the position, James Cook III has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Bijan Robinson is not on the injury report.

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Bijan Robinson played 71 percent of ATL snaps, took 66 percent of the carries, drew 17 percent of the targets and had 46 percent of the red zone chances.

Bijan Robinson, Week 4 against NO: 34 of 57 snaps, 19 carries for 145 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 2 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Bijan Robinson, Week 5 against BAL: 52 of 64 snaps, 17 carries for 86 yards, 7 targets and 4 catches for 32 yards.

Bijan Robinson, Week 6 against CHI: 43 of 55 snaps, 9 carries for 61 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for -8 yards.

Bijan Robinson, Week 7 against SF: 55 of 69 snaps, 20 carries for 63 yards, 5 targets and 5 catches for 45 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Bijan Robinson played 17 games for ATL and scored 370.8 PPR points, 21.8 a game, finishing RB2.

He ran 287 times for 1478 yards and 7 touchdowns, and caught 79 of 103 targets for 820 yards.

He was on the field for 78 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

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 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 James Cook III for Bijan Robinson?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Bijan Robinson projects 199 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (22.1 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 160 (16.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bijan Robinson over James Cook III.
Should I drop Bijan Robinson for James Cook III?
No. Keep Bijan Robinson: he projects 199 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (22.1 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 160 (16.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Bijan Robinson over James Cook III.