Start Derrick Henry or James Cook III? Week 2

Our Week 2 call

Start Derrick Henry over James Cook III in Week 2.

De-vigged player props project Derrick Henry at 24.5 points and James Cook III at 17.2, a gap of 7.3. Derrick Henry's number is scaled up from a partial market: the books have not posted every stat the position needs, so the rest is estimated from what they have. Drafters take Derrick Henry at ADP 7 and James Cook III at 6. Market coverage on Derrick Henry is 70 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 17.2 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

Player prop markets imply 24.5 fantasy points for Derrick Henry, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

That puts Derrick Henry 7.3 points ahead of James Cook III on the books.

Week 2 matchups

James Cook III and BUF host DET on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

DET allowed 25.0 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 12th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 80 yards and a touchdown against DET and caught passes for 30 more yards.

Derrick Henry and BAL host NO on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

NO allowed 36.4 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 5th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns against NO and caught passes for 41 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Derrick Henry has the softer matchup.

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Derrick Henry is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 2

Through Week 1, James Cook III played 72 percent of BUF snaps, took 65 percent of the carries, drew 14 percent of the targets and had 43 percent of the red zone chances.

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

Through Week 1, Derrick Henry played 54 percent of BAL snaps, took 71 percent of the carries, drew 4 percent of the targets and had 55 percent of the red zone chances.

Derrick Henry, Week 1 against IND: 37 of 68 snaps, 24 carries for 144 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 19 yards, 3 touchdowns.

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.

In 2025, Derrick Henry played 17 games for BAL and scored 279.5 PPR points, 16.4 a game, finishing RB8.

He ran 307 times for 1595 yards and 16 touchdowns, and caught 15 of 21 targets for 150 yards.

He was on the field for 54 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Derrick Henry, Week 18 of 2025 against PIT: 20 carries for 126 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards, 12.6 PPR points.

Derrick Henry, Week 17 of 2025 against GB: 48 of 76 snaps, 36 carries for 216 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 4 touchdowns, 45.6 PPR points.

Their other Week 2 calls

• Start Bijan Robinson over James Cook III.
• Start James Cook III over Chase Brown.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III.
• Start Derrick Henry over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Bijan Robinson over Derrick Henry.
• Start Derrick Henry over Chase Brown.