Start Jonathan Taylor or James Cook III? Week 2

Our Week 2 call

Start Jonathan Taylor over James Cook III in Week 2.

De-vigged player props project Jonathan Taylor at 18.1 points and James Cook III at 17.2, a gap of 0.9. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Drafters take Jonathan Taylor at ADP 5 and James Cook III at 6.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 18.1 fantasy points for Jonathan Taylor, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

Player prop markets imply 17.2 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

That puts Jonathan Taylor 0.9 points ahead of James Cook III on the books.

Week 2 matchups

Jonathan Taylor and IND visit KC on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

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 on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

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.

Through Week 1, James Cook III played 72 percent of BUF snaps, took 65 percent of the carries, drew 14 percent of the targets and had 43 percent of the red zone chances.

James Cook III, Week 1 against HOU: 42 of 58 snaps, 13 carries for 57 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 12 yards.

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.

Their other Week 2 calls

• Start Bijan Robinson over Jonathan Taylor.
• Start Jonathan Taylor over Chase Brown.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over Jonathan Taylor.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III.
• Start Derrick Henry over James Cook III.
• Start James Cook III over De'Von Achane.