Start James Cook III or Chuba Hubbard? Week 3

Our Week 3 call

Start James Cook III over Chuba Hubbard in Week 3.

De-vigged player props project James Cook III at 16.1 points and Chuba Hubbard at 16.0, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

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 (12, 15, 14 and 15 books).

Player prop markets imply 16.0 fantasy points for Chuba Hubbard, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The books have Chuba Hubbard at 71.5 rushing yards, 15.5 receiving yards and 2.5 receptions, with a 54% chance to score a touchdown (14, 15, 14 and 15 books).

That puts James Cook III 0.1 points ahead of Chuba Hubbard 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.

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Chuba Hubbard is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 3

Through Week 2, Chuba Hubbard played 68 percent of CAR snaps, took 51 percent of the carries, drew 8 percent of the targets and had 27 percent of the red zone chances.

Chuba Hubbard, Week 1 against CHI: 48 of 68 snaps, 10 carries for 49 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 38 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Chuba Hubbard, Week 2 against ATL: 43 of 66 snaps, 12 carries for 53 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 11 yards, 1 touchdown.

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, Chuba Hubbard played 15 games for CAR and scored 125.4 PPR points, 8.4 a game, finishing RB38.

He ran 134 times for 511 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 30 of 39 targets for 223 yards.

He was on the field for 47 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Chuba Hubbard, Week 18 of 2025 against TB: 23 of 51 snaps, 5 carries for 10 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 7 yards, 3.7 PPR points.

Their other Week 3 calls

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