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Start James Cook III or Kenneth Walker? Week 9

Updated Nov 4, 9:56 AM ET.

Latest

  • : James Cook III: Listed Questionable (Undisclosed) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start James Cook III over Kenneth Walker

Cook projects lower, 16.4 to 19.0, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 9 for Cook, 17 for Walker.

Start

James Cook III

RB · BUF · at MIN

Market projects
16.4
fantasy pts
MIN D vs RB
18.4
5th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside
Rising
68 of 100 at RB
Snap share
54%
Through Week 8
Target share
9%
Through Week 8
Sit

Kenneth Walker

RB · KC · vs NYJ

Market projects
19.0
recent weeks avg
NYJ D vs RB
21.8
15th most to RBs (2026)
Snap share
75%
Through Week 6
Target share
15%
Through Week 6

Should I drop James Cook III for Kenneth Walker?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Kenneth Walker projects 176 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.6 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 147 (16.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 9 the call starts James Cook III over Kenneth Walker. So make the move after his Week 9 game.

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Kenneth Walker rookie cards

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Our Week 9 call

Start James Cook III over Kenneth Walker in Week 9.

Market-based projections have James Cook III at 16.4 points and Kenneth Walker at 19.0, a gap of 2.6. James Cook III still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 9 against 17, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Kenneth Walker this week yet, so his 19.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6, 7 and 8 (20.1, 17.9 and 19.0); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 9 player market is posted for Kenneth Walker yet. His market-based projections were 20.1, 17.9 and 19.0 points in Weeks 6, 7 and 8, an average of 19.0, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.

Player markets imply 16.4 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 80 rushing yards, 14 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.7 touchdowns (12, 12, 12 and 12 market sources).

That puts Kenneth Walker 2.6 points ahead of James Cook III on these projections.

Week 9 matchups

Kenneth Walker and KC host NYJ on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

NYJ allowed 21.8 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 8 games, the 15th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 105 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against NYJ and caught passes for 27 more yards.

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

MIN allowed 18.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 103 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against MIN and caught passes for 18 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Kenneth Walker has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Kenneth Walker is not on the injury report.

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 6, Kenneth Walker played 75 percent of KC snaps, took 76 percent of the carries, drew 15 percent of the targets and had 58 percent of the red zone chances.

Kenneth Walker, Week 2 against IND: 66 of 80 snaps, 24 carries for 117 yards, 10 targets and 6 catches for 61 yards.

Kenneth Walker, Week 3 against MIA: 38 of 52 snaps, 18 carries for 70 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 3 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Kenneth Walker, Week 4 against LV: 45 of 60 snaps, 22 carries for 177 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 2 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Kenneth Walker, Week 6 against LAC: 45 of 61 snaps, 19 carries for 128 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 11 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Through Week 8, James Cook III played 54 percent of BUF snaps, took 54 percent of the carries, drew 9 percent of the targets and had 35 percent of the red zone chances.

James Cook III, Week 8 against BAL: 44 of 82 snaps, 21 carries for 80 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 21 yards, 1 touchdown.

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.

Their other Week 9 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 9, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

  • Should I drop James Cook III for Kenneth Walker?

    Yes, on the rest of the season. Kenneth Walker projects 176 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.6 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 147 (16.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 9 the call starts James Cook III over Kenneth Walker. So make the move after his Week 9 game.

  • Should I drop Kenneth Walker for James Cook III?

    No. Keep Kenneth Walker: he projects 176 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.6 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 147 (16.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 9 the call starts James Cook III over Kenneth Walker.

Should I drop James Cook III?

Week 9 on the board

Elsewhere on the board