Start James Cook III or Chase Brown? Week 3

Our Week 3 call

Start James Cook III over Chase Brown in Week 3.

De-vigged player props project James Cook III at 16.2 points and Chase Brown at 16.2, a gap of 0.0. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Drafters take James Cook III at ADP 2 and Chase Brown at 5.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 16.2 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The books have James Cook III at 79.5 rushing yards, 11.5 receiving yards and 1.5 receptions, with a 60% chance to score a touchdown (13, 15, 14 and 15 books).

Player prop markets imply 16.2 fantasy points for Chase Brown, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The books have Chase Brown at 63.5 rushing yards, 21.5 receiving yards and 3.5 receptions, with a 51% chance to score a touchdown (13, 16, 12 and 15 books).

That puts James Cook III 0.0 points ahead of Chase Brown on the books.

Week 3 matchups

James Cook III and BUF host LAC on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

LAC allowed 16.6 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 2 games, the 11th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 79 yards and 0.5 touchdowns a game against LAC and caught passes for 17 more yards.

Chase Brown and CIN visit PIT on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

PIT allowed 26.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 2 games, the 7th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 117 yards and 0.5 touchdowns a game against PIT and caught passes for 49 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Chase Brown has the softer matchup.

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Chase Brown is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 3

Through Week 2, Chase Brown played 71 percent of CIN snaps, took 75 percent of the carries, drew 17 percent of the targets and had 41 percent of the red zone chances.

Chase Brown, Week 1 against TB: 46 of 64 snaps, 16 carries for 56 yards, 6 targets and 5 catches for 22 yards, 1 touchdown.

Chase Brown, Week 2 against HOU: 42 of 60 snaps, 20 carries for 80 yards, 5 targets and 3 catches for 2 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, Chase Brown played 17 games for CIN and scored 282.6 PPR points, 16.6 a game, finishing RB7.

He ran 232 times for 1019 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 69 of 88 targets for 437 yards.

He was on the field for 67 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Chase Brown, Week 18 of 2025 against CLE: 13 carries for 72 yards, 6 targets and 4 catches for 18 yards, 1 touchdown, 19.0 PPR points.

Their other Week 3 calls

• Start James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start James Cook III over Christian McCaffrey.
• Start James Cook III over Chuba Hubbard.
• Start Chase Brown over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over Chase Brown.
• Start Chuba Hubbard over Chase Brown.