Start James Cook III or Jaylen Warren? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 7:31 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start James Cook III over Jaylen Warren

Start

James Cook III

RB · BUF · vs BAL

Market projects: 16.8; fantasy pts
BAL D vs RB: 18.5; 5th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 82 of 100 at RB

Sit

Jaylen Warren

RB · PIT · vs CLE

Market projects: 16.7; recent weeks avg
CLE D vs RB: 19.4; 8th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 65 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 74%; Through Week 7
Target share: 14%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Jaylen Warren for James Cook III?

Yes, on the rest of the season. James Cook III projects 162 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.2 a game over 10 games), Jaylen Warren 149 (16.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Jaylen Warren.

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Our Week 8 call

Start James Cook III over Jaylen Warren in Week 8.

Market-based projections have James Cook III at 16.8 points and Jaylen Warren at 16.7, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Jaylen Warren this week yet, so his 16.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (17.8, 15.7 and 16.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take James Cook III at ADP 9 and Jaylen Warren at 62.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 16.8 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for James Cook III is 89 rushing yards, 10 receiving yards, 1-2 receptions and 0.9 touchdowns (8, 8, 7 and 12 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Jaylen Warren yet. His market-based projections were 17.8, 15.7 and 16.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 16.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts James Cook III 0.1 points ahead of Jaylen Warren on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

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

BAL allowed 18.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 77 yards and 0.9 touchdowns a game against BAL and caught passes for 15 more yards.

Jaylen Warren and PIT host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 19.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 104 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against CLE and caught passes for 20 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Jaylen Warren has the softer matchup.

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Jaylen Warren is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Jaylen Warren played 74 percent of PIT snaps, took 68 percent of the carries, drew 14 percent of the targets and had 24 percent of the red zone chances.

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

Jaylen Warren, Week 5 against IND: 52 of 60 snaps, 15 carries for 101 yards, 6 targets and 6 catches for 87 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Jaylen Warren, Week 6 against TB: 59 of 79 snaps, 14 carries for 50 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 28 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 7 against NO: 40 of 64 snaps, 18 carries for 101 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 36 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, 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.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Jaylen Warren for James Cook III?
Yes, on the rest of the season. James Cook III projects 162 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.2 a game over 10 games), Jaylen Warren 149 (16.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Jaylen Warren.
Should I drop James Cook III for Jaylen Warren?
No. Keep James Cook III: he projects 162 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (16.2 a game over 10 games), Jaylen Warren 149 (16.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts James Cook III over Jaylen Warren.