Start Braelon Allen or James Cook III? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start James Cook III over Braelon Allen in Week 5.

Market-based projections have James Cook III at 14.5 points and Braelon Allen at 15.0, a gap of 0.5. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 15.0 fantasy points for Braelon Allen, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has Braelon Allen at 71.5 rushing yards, 12.5 receiving yards and 2.5 receptions, with a 49% chance to score a touchdown (12, 5, 6 and 14 market sources).

Player markets imply 14.5 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has James Cook III at 75.5 rushing yards, 10.5 receiving yards and 1.5 receptions, with a 52% chance to score a touchdown (12, 7, 4 and 14 market sources).

That puts Braelon Allen 0.5 points ahead of James Cook III 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

Braelon Allen is not on the injury report.

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, Braelon Allen played 48 percent of NYJ snaps, took 34 percent of the carries, drew 6 percent of the targets and had 33 percent of the red zone chances.

Braelon Allen, Week 1 against TEN: 27 of 67 snaps, 10 carries for 40 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Braelon Allen, Week 2 against GB: 23 of 74 snaps, 5 carries for 7 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 8 yards, 1 touchdown.

Braelon Allen, Week 3 against DET: 34 of 66 snaps, 4 carries for 14 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 3 yards.

Braelon Allen, Week 4 against CHI: 30 of 32 snaps, 14 carries for 59 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 8 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Braelon Allen played 4 games for NYJ and scored 15.3 PPR points, 3.8 a game, finishing RB100.

He ran 18 times for 76 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 2 of 3 targets for 17 yards.

He was on the field for 24 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 5 calls

• Start Aaron Jones Sr. over Braelon Allen.
• Start Braelon Allen over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Braelon Allen over Bhayshul Tuten.
• Start Aaron Jones Sr. over James Cook III.
• Start James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start James Cook III over Bhayshul Tuten.