Start Chase Brown or James Cook III? Week 1

Our Week 1 call

Start James Cook III over Chase Brown in Week 1.

De-vigged player props project James Cook III at 9.3 points and Chase Brown at 5.7, a gap of 3.6. Drafters take James Cook III at ADP 12 and Chase Brown at 14. Market coverage on James Cook III is 50 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 9.3 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 50 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

Player prop markets imply 5.7 fantasy points for Chase Brown, with 40 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

That puts James Cook III 3.6 points ahead of Chase Brown on the books.

Week 1 matchups

James Cook III and BUF visit HOU on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

HOU allowed 10.5 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 4th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 63 yards and no touchdowns against HOU and caught passes for 12 more yards.

Chase Brown and CIN host TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 26.8 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 10th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 76 yards and a touchdown against TB and caught passes for 52 more yards.

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

Injury status

James Cook III was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Chase Brown was not on the injury report when the call was made.

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.

Chase Brown, Week 17 of 2025 against ARI: 47 of 77 snaps, 22 carries for 101 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 40 yards, 2 touchdowns, 29.1 PPR points.

Chase Brown, Week 16 of 2025 against MIA: 37 of 61 snaps, 12 carries for 66 yards, 4 targets and 4 catches for 43 yards, 3 touchdowns, 32.9 PPR points.

How Week 1 went

James Cook III scored 9.9 PPR points and Chase Brown scored 18.8.

The call was wrong: Chase Brown outscored James Cook III by 8.9.

James Cook III finished 0.6 points above the 9.3 the props implied.

James Cook III, Week 1 against HOU: 42 of 58 snaps, 13 carries for 57 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 12 yards, 9.9 PPR points.

James Cook III finished as the week's RB27 in PPR scoring.

Chase Brown finished 13.1 points above the 5.7 the props implied.

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, 18.8 PPR points.

Chase Brown finished as the week's RB14 in PPR scoring.

Their other Week 1 calls

• Start Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III.
• Start James Cook III over Derrick Henry.
• Start James Cook III over De'Von Achane.
• Start Ashton Jeanty over Chase Brown.
• Start Derrick Henry over Chase Brown.
• Start De'Von Achane over Chase Brown.