Start Saquon Barkley or James Cook III? Week 2

Our Week 2 call

Start James Cook III over Saquon Barkley in Week 2.

De-vigged player props project James Cook III at 17.6 points and Saquon Barkley at 14.9, a gap of 2.7. Drafters take James Cook III at ADP 3 and Saquon Barkley at 5.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 17.6 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

Player prop markets imply 14.9 fantasy points for Saquon Barkley, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

That puts James Cook III 2.7 points ahead of Saquon Barkley on the books.

Week 2 matchups

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.

Saquon Barkley and PHI visit TEN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TEN allowed 23.8 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 15th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 142 yards and a touchdown against TEN and caught passes for 16 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, James Cook III has the softer matchup.

Injury status

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Saquon Barkley is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 2

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.

Through Week 1, Saquon Barkley played 71 percent of PHI snaps, took 65 percent of the carries, drew 9 percent of the targets and had 33 percent of the red zone chances.

Saquon Barkley, Week 1 against WAS: 39 of 55 snaps, 15 carries for 83 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for -3 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.

In 2025, Saquon Barkley played 16 games for PHI and scored 232.3 PPR points, 14.5 a game, finishing RB14.

He ran 280 times for 1140 yards and 7 touchdowns, and caught 37 of 50 targets for 273 yards.

He was on the field for 78 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Saquon Barkley, Week 17 of 2025 against BUF: 43 of 54 snaps, 19 carries for 68 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 6.8 PPR points.

Saquon Barkley, Week 16 of 2025 against WAS: 54 of 70 snaps, 21 carries for 132 yards, 2 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1 touchdown, 21.2 PPR points.

Their other Week 2 calls

• Start Bijan Robinson over James Cook III.
• Start James Cook III over Chase Brown.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III.
• Start Saquon Barkley over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Bijan Robinson over Saquon Barkley.
• Start Saquon Barkley over Chase Brown.