Start James Cook III or Braelon Allen? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 2:06 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start James Cook III over Braelon Allen

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

Braelon Allen

RB · NYJ · vs LV

Market projects: 14.8; recent weeks avg
LV D vs RB: 25.4; 5th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: High; 100 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 64%; Through Week 7
Target share: 10%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Braelon Allen 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), Braelon Allen 123 (13.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Braelon Allen.

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Our Week 8 call

Start James Cook III over Braelon Allen in Week 8.

Market-based projections have James Cook III at 15.7 points and Braelon Allen at 14.8, a gap of 0.8. 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 Braelon Allen this week yet, so his 14.8 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (14.9, 13.8 and 15.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take James Cook III at ADP 9 and Braelon Allen at 180.

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 Braelon Allen yet. His market-based projections were 14.9, 13.8 and 15.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 14.8, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts James Cook III 0.8 points ahead of Braelon Allen 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.

Braelon Allen and NYJ host LV on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

LV allowed 25.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 5th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 125 yards and a touchdown a game against LV and caught passes for 37 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Braelon Allen has the softer matchup.

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Braelon Allen is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Braelon Allen played 64 percent of NYJ snaps, took 53 percent of the carries, drew 10 percent of the targets and had 30 percent of the red zone chances.

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

Braelon Allen, Week 5 against CLE: 60 of 70 snaps, 24 carries for 116 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 0 yards, 1 touchdown.

Braelon Allen, Week 6 against NE: 54 of 62 snaps, 17 carries for 78 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 26 yards.

Braelon Allen, Week 7 against MIA: 46 of 59 snaps, 17 carries for 104 yards, 7 targets and 6 catches for 30 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, 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.

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 Braelon Allen 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), Braelon Allen 123 (13.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Braelon Allen.
Should I drop James Cook III for Braelon Allen?
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), Braelon Allen 123 (13.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Braelon Allen.