Start Jonathan Taylor or James Cook III? Week 1

Our Week 1 call

Start Jonathan Taylor over James Cook III in Week 1.

Jonathan Taylor is priced by the books at 12.1 projected points. James Cook III has no player market posted for this week, so his side of this call rests on consensus ADP and the news wire only. Drafters take Jonathan Taylor at ADP 8 and James Cook III at 12. Market coverage on Jonathan Taylor is 30 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 12.1 fantasy points for Jonathan Taylor, with 30 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

No sportsbook posted a player market for James Cook III in Week 1.

Week 1 matchups

Jonathan Taylor and IND host BAL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

BAL allowed 26.1 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 11th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns against BAL and caught passes for 23 more yards.

James Cook III and BUF visit HOU.

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.

By points allowed to the position, Jonathan Taylor has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Jonathan Taylor was not on the injury report when the call was made.

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

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Jonathan Taylor played 17 games for IND and scored 362.3 PPR points, 21.3 a game, finishing RB4.

He ran 323 times for 1585 yards and 18 touchdowns, and caught 46 of 55 targets for 378 yards.

He was on the field for 84 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 18 of 2025 against HOU: 14 carries for 26 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 13 yards, 5.9 PPR points.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 17 of 2025 against JAX: 51 of 57 snaps, 21 carries for 70 yards, 6 targets and 3 catches for 14 yards, 1 touchdown, 17.4 PPR points.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 16 of 2025 against SF: 53 of 60 snaps, 16 carries for 46 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards, 1 touchdown, 16.9 PPR points.

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.

How Week 1 went

Jonathan Taylor scored 25.1 PPR points and James Cook III scored 9.9.

The call was right: Jonathan Taylor outscored James Cook III by 15.2.

Jonathan Taylor finished 13.0 points above the 12.1 the props implied.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 1 against BAL: 48 of 54 snaps, 19 carries for 98 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 23 yards, 2 touchdowns, 25.1 PPR points.

Jonathan Taylor finished as the week's RB8 in PPR scoring.

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.

Their other Week 1 calls

• Start Bijan Robinson over Jonathan Taylor.
• Start Jonathan Taylor over Chase Brown.
• Start Jonathan Taylor over Christian McCaffrey.
• Start James Cook III over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start James Cook III over Chase Brown.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III.