Start Jonathan Taylor or James Cook III? Week 2
Locks at kickoff, graded after.
Start Jonathan Taylor over James Cook III
- KC D vs RB
- 11.7
- 7th fewest to RBs (2026)
- Snap share
- 89%
- Through Week 1
- Target share
- 14%
- Through Week 1
- DET D vs RB
- 25.0
- 12th most to RBs (2026)
Our Week 2 call
Start Jonathan Taylor over James Cook III in Week 2.
Neither player has a posted player market for this week, so this call is ADP and news based rather than priced against the betting market. Drafters take Jonathan Taylor at ADP 8 and James Cook III at 12.
What the books imply
No sportsbook posted a player market for Jonathan Taylor in Week 2.
No sportsbook posted a player market for James Cook III in Week 2.
Week 2 matchups
Jonathan Taylor and IND visit KC.
KC allowed 11.7 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 7th fewest in the league.
Running backs ran for 54 yards and no touchdowns against KC and caught passes for 23 more yards.
James Cook III and BUF host DET.
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.
By points allowed to the position, James Cook III has the softer matchup.
Injury status
Jonathan Taylor is not on the injury report.
James Cook III is not on the injury report.
Usage before Week 2
Through Week 1, Jonathan Taylor played 89 percent of IND snaps, took 95 percent of the carries, drew 14 percent of the targets and had 63 percent of the red zone chances.
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.
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.
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 2 calls
On the draft board
Ranked ahead
RB14 · IND · bye 13
2025 vs anytime td line 10-7
- Overall rank
- 35
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 4
Ranked behind
RB49 · BUF · bye 7
2025 vs anytime td line 9-8
- Overall rank
- 184
- Draft pick
- no consensus
- Tier
- 10
The board cards are draft figures, not the week's call. Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 2, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.
The gap between them
- Spots apart on the board149
- Pick differencenot comparable without a consensus on both
- Tierstier 4 and tier 10
- Board size244 draftable players
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