Start Jaylen Warren or James Cook III? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start Jaylen Warren over James Cook III in Week 5.

Market-based projections have Jaylen Warren at 15.3 points and James Cook III at 14.6, a gap of 0.7. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 15.3 fantasy points for Jaylen Warren, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has Jaylen Warren at 61.5 rushing yards, 17.5 receiving yards and 2.5 receptions, with a 55% chance to score a touchdown (15, 12, 13 and 16 market sources).

Player markets imply 14.6 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has James Cook III at 75.5 rushing yards, 11.5 receiving yards and 1.5 receptions, with a 51% chance to score a touchdown (15, 16, 13 and 16 market sources).

That puts Jaylen Warren 0.7 points ahead of James Cook III on the market projections.

Week 5 matchups

James Cook III and BUF visit LAR on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

LAR allowed 15.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 4 games, the 3rd fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 82 yards and no touchdowns a game against LAR and caught passes for 26 more yards.

Injury status

Jaylen Warren is not on the injury report.

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, Jaylen Warren played 74 percent of PIT snaps, took 68 percent of the carries, drew 14 percent of the targets and had 29 percent of the red zone chances.

Jaylen Warren, Week 1 against ATL: 25 of 67 snaps, 10 carries for 46 yards, 6 targets and 5 catches for 27 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 2 against NE: 50 of 70 snaps, 11 carries for 43 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 34 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 3 against CIN: 56 of 62 snaps, 17 carries for 127 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 49 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 4 against CLE: 70 of 72 snaps, 17 carries for 93 yards, 6 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Jaylen Warren played 16 games for PIT and scored 217.1 PPR points, 13.6 a game, finishing RB17.

He ran 211 times for 958 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 40 of 45 targets for 333 yards.

He was on the field for 51 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

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.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start Aaron Jones Sr. over Jaylen Warren.
• Start Jaylen Warren over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Jaylen Warren over Braelon Allen.
• Start Aaron Jones Sr. over James Cook III.
• Start James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start James Cook III over Bhayshul Tuten.