RB James Cook, BUF (14 Viewers)

[menobrown]

Some people asking to wait for the real numbers. Are these the real numbers you are waiting for?

James Cook signed a 4 year, $48,000,000 contract with the Buffalo Bills, including $30,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $12,000,000. In 2025, Cook will earn a base salary of $5,271,000 and a workout bonus of $75,000, while carrying a cap hit of $5,701,374 and a dead cap value of $355,374.

As was answered no and partly because the APY can be inflated with back end non-guaranteed money but mainly it's because guaranteed is not the same thing as fully guaranteed.

Fully guaranteed is what it sounds like. It's your money regardless of injury or skill.

Just guaranteed is a little different. For instance a contract can stipulate something like "if he's on the roster the 5th day of the new league year in 2027 it guarantees X amount of his contract" but that's hardly what most of really thing a "guarantee" means.

 

[menobrown]

I’d check Kyren Williams’s contract

Exact details not out yet and what I've discovered is the longer it takes to get out the exact details the farther off it is from being in line with the initial figures presented.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I’m using night mode and it’s fine. What happened?

Shows up black text against grey background. Less than ideal.

 

[menobrown]

For those interested the details are in without listing them all most people will say his essentially signed for 3 years for $30M with team options for two additional years with no guarantees.

The way I see it is he basically signed a 2 year extension for $25m with team options for two more years. I view it this way because without the extension he'd have played this year for $5m, the 2 years for $25M is what they truly gave him to extend his contract at least two seasons past this one.

Technically he could get cut after the 2026 season but most of his 2027 salary will have locked into being guaranteed before they could do that so they'd only save a tad under $3M and would have made extending him for that 2026 season very expensive.

Long story short to me he got $12.5M a year for two years added on his deal. Fair IMO though the one issue I'd have tried to push harder if I was him was shortening the length of the contract but if he's still playing at a high level after 27 they can work that out.

 

[LawFitz]

he got $12.5M a year for two years added on his deal

I see it more as, they tore up his existing 1 yr / $5 MM deal entirely, and then replaced it with a 2 yr deal at ~$10 MM per, with team options at that same annual average for three more years thereafter. Gives Cook upfront security, at a reasonable price for the team given his most recent production. And with the way these situations now play, if he outplays this deal, I suspect he'll ask for a new deal after 2026 or 2027.

 

[menobrown]

he got $12.5M a year for two years added on his deal

I see it more as, they tore up his existing 1 yr / $5 MM deal entirely, and then replaced it with a 2 yr deal at ~$10 MM per, with team options at that same annual average for three more years thereafter. Gives Cook upfront security, at a reasonable price for the team given his most recent production. And with the way these situations now play, if he outplays this deal, I suspect he'll ask for a new deal after 2026 or 2027.

I think we broached this subject on the Kyren Williams and for sure I don't agree with the bolded.

The notion of tore up his deal does not jive. They absorbed it into his contract to lower the cap it.

Bottom line is they had him under contract for $5m guaranteed. They essentially guaranteed him $25M to add two more years to that deal.

We can agree to disagree.

 

[LawFitz]

he got $12.5M a year for two years added on his deal

I see it more as, they tore up his existing 1 yr / $5 MM deal entirely, and then replaced it with a 2 yr deal at ~$10 MM per, with team options at that same annual average for three more years thereafter. Gives Cook upfront security, at a reasonable price for the team given his most recent production. And with the way these situations now play, if he outplays this deal, I suspect he'll ask for a new deal after 2026 or 2027.

I think we broached this subject on the Kyren Williams and for sure I don't agree with the bolded.

The notion of tore up his deal does not jive. They absorbed it into his contract to lower the cap it.

Bottom line is they had him under contract for $5m guaranteed. They essentially guaranteed him $25M to add two more years to that deal.

We can agree to disagree.

Differing perspectives is all...

Old deal had 1 yr remaining for $5 MM.

New deal has the team committed for the next two years, then with fairly easy outs (in terms of cap hits and dwindling guarantees) each year after that. Here are the cash amounts Cook will be paid each year from here on out...

2025: $10.3 MM
2026: $10 MM
---
2027: $9.7 MM
2028: $10.3 MM
2029: $11 MM

It's not that he's getting $5 MM this year, then $25 MM the next two, which is why this is tearing up the old deal and replacing it, despite the framing of it as an "extension" by the team and agent.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/76939/james-cook/contract/cash

 

[Payne]

I'm not sure why there is so much talk about the numbers. Who cares. He got paid. He's the guy. Davis is the backup.
Draft Cook accordingly.

 

[rockaction]

I'm not sure why there is so much talk about the numbers. Who cares. He got paid. He's the guy. Davis is the backup.
Draft Cook accordingly.

Matters for dynasty. Redraft? Draft away.

 

[Payne]

I'm not sure why there is so much talk about the numbers. Who cares. He got paid. He's the guy. Davis is the backup.
Draft Cook accordingly.

Matters for dynasty. Redraft? Draft away.

Fair enough.

 

[Grahamburn]

1st rounder in redraft next year?

The RB position is horrible…he might just be end of the 1st / early 2nd. Look at the top guys from this year…Eckler is done, Jacobs is done, pollard did nothing this year, Barkley is done, Mixon stinks, who knows about Chubb, Henry is done, Harris is the lesser half of time share with Warren, Aaron jones is near the end

McAffrey is miles ahead of everyone and the #1 pick, and then you have Etienne, Bijan (love the talent hate the coach and situation), walker but he has Chardonnay there, certainly Gibbs, maybe Breece but looking at the landscape without putting much effort into it Cook is certainly top10, maybe top 5 depending on how the rest of the year goes. They certainly are succeeding putting the ball in his hands which is always a good sign.

They just knocked off the hottest team in the league riding on his back. They weren’t using him the right way early in the year and now they FINALLY are.

Yikes.

 

[travdogg]

I do wonder if Cook might be this year's so overrated, he's actually underrated guy.

 

[IHEARTFF]

I do wonder if Cook might be this year's so overrated, he's actually underrated guy.

TD regression but he’s pretty badass still

 

[MrSoup]

I do wonder if Cook might be this year's so overrated, he's actually underrated guy.

Somehow the collective fantasy football hive mind has decided this guy is just average.

Just watch him. He’s an elite ball carrier and also a fantastic blocker. Seems his teammates love him. He’s a man of few words.

Outside of Josh Allen, he’s very clearly the best player on their offense. An offense that scores a lot of points. If the Bills up his touches to the 300+ range, he has the opportunity and skill to be fantasy RB #1.

Perhaps Billy Beane gets in McDermott’s ear and says “Let’s get our money’s worth.”

 

[ponchsox]

I do wonder if Cook might be this year's so overrated, he's actually underrated guy.

I think so. He’s dipped because of baked in TD regression, but he’s rock solid when other players around him have some question marks.

 

[Grahamburn]

I do wonder if Cook might be this year's so overrated, he's actually underrated guy.

I think so. He’s dipped because of baked in TD regression, but he’s rock solid when other players around him have some question marks.

TD regression and the minimal snap share. Seems like if their game scripts change some this year he could increase that snap share significantly. He spent a lot of time on the sidelines in blowouts.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I do wonder if Cook might be this year's so overrated, he's actually underrated guy.

Early to Mid 2nd ADP Early to Mid 3rd ADP seems like he’s pretty solidly rated. Not sure he’s underrated - I think if people expected 18 total TDs again, he’d be going at the end of the 1st, so that regression is probably baked in.

Seems like he’s going right about where he should go now that the contract issue is resolved.

ETA it’s actually early to mid 3rd ADP. My bad.

 

[VaTerp]

I do wonder if Cook might be this year's so overrated, he's actually underrated guy.

Somehow the collective fantasy football hive mind has decided this guy is just average.

Just watch him. He’s an elite ball carrier and also a fantastic blocker. Seems his teammates love him. He’s a man of few words.

Outside of Josh Allen, he’s very clearly the best player on their offense. An offense that scores a lot of points. If the Bills up his touches to the 300+ range, he has the opportunity and skill to be fantasy RB #1.

Perhaps Billy Beane gets in McDermott’s ear and says “Let’s get our money’s worth.”

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised by how much higher I am on Cook than the consensus. I get the concerns about TD regression and somewhat limited snaps and volume. But when I combine the fact that he is the clear 2nd best player in one of the NFL's best offenses and the eye test, I see a player I really like and feel is undervalued at RB13.

There was a USA Today article a couple of weeks ago that looked at the last 20 years of overall PPR RB1 finishes and trends based on their previous year stats. The four who met the criteria were:

Gibbs
Achane
Irving
Cook

Guys like Barkley, CMC, Bijan,etc. missed out due to age and/or workload, or other factors.

I was surprised to see Cook there but this has sort of stuck in my head, especially given what was stated above. I don't think he finishes as RB1 but there are enough good trends there that I think he has value in the 3rd round and I'd be thrilled to get him as my RB2.

Everyone sees the huge TD spike but he had 30 less carries for 113 less yards and 16 less receptions for 187 less yards and 2 less TDs in 2024 compared to 2023. Depending on game scripts, I think he can maintain his efficiency while surpassing his 2023 volume.

Maybe he doesn't but I've got Cook in a tier of RBs at 9-13. And he aint 13.

 

[travdogg]

I do wonder if Cook might be this year's so overrated, he's actually underrated guy.

Early to Mid 2nd ADP seems like he’s pretty solidly rated. Not sure he’s underrated - I think if people expected 18 total TDs again, he’d be going at the end of the 1st, so that regression is probably baked in.

Seems like he’s going right about where he should go now that the contract issue is resolved.

I guess he's had quite the jump since he signed. He was going early round 4 when I was drafting after the 2nd preseason week.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I guess he's had quite the jump since he signed. He was going early round 4 when I was drafting after the 2nd preseason week.

Just checked again - he’s going in the early to mid 3rd with Hampton, my bad.

 

[MrSoup]

Goal line?

Just dial 1-800-JIMBO-TD

 

[jobarules]

The usage will never make sense to me

 

[ponchsox]

“ToUchDoWn ReGrEsSiOn” my ***

 

[Ray_T]

The usage will never make sense to me

I'm not sure either. as a rookie he caught a lot of passes.

Last year I drafted him high in my PPR league because they didnt look like they had very good WR so I figured hed be a larger part of the passing game.

instead they use him less in the pass game but make him into the goal line back. turned out better, but I was still puzzled by the usage.

now the team is struggling on offense vs baltimore today. WR not doing much. once again they use him in the Red zone, so he has a TD but only 2 catches for 4 yards on only 2 targets.

with his skillset I'd be using him a lot more in the pass game. Just sayin.... while I'm happy to see the TD I am really at a loss to explain his lack of involvement in the pass game.

 

[MrSoup]

The usage will never make sense to me

I'm not sure either. as a rookie he caught a lot of passes.

Last year I drafted him high in my PPR league because they didnt look like they had very good WR so I figured hed be a larger part of the passing game.

instead they use him less in the pass game but make him into the goal line back. turned out better, but I was still puzzled by the usage.

now the team is struggling on offense vs baltimore today. WR not doing much. once again they use him in the Red zone, so he has a TD but only 2 catches for 4 yards on only 2 targets.

with his skillset I'd be using him a lot more in the pass game. Just sayin.... while I'm happy to see the TD I am really at a loss to explain his lack of involvement in the pass game.

For his size, he’s actually a really great blocker. I think that plays into not catching as many passes as folks would like. Seems like he usually stays into block before leaking out into a flat after Allen has already gone through a few reads.

 

[ponchsox]

Should have 2 TDs. 5 receptions with 12 carries so far? Stud

 

[Ray_T]

Should have 2 TDs. 5 receptions with 12 carries so far? Stud

at the time I made my posting he had to catches 4 yards. it was like someone in buffalo saw my post and decided to give him more work on that last drive

and no Im not taking credit for that. its just a funny coincidence.

 

[taylormeetstheismann]

What You Need To Know From Week 1

“James Cook didn't have any big plays“

Except the huge 51-yard reception and he scored a rushing TD resulting in him being ~RB4 in week one.

 

[ponchsox]

What You Need To Know From Week 1

“James Cook didn't have any big plays“

Except the huge 51-yard reception and he scored a rushing TD resulting in him being ~RB4 in week one.

And was two yards from a second TD. He’s a stud on the top offense.

 

[Grahamburn]

The usage will never make sense to me

They're planning on playing ~20 games.

It's healthier not to watch. Then after it's over you're like, "damn, he's a stud."

 

[jobarules]

The usage will never make sense to me

They're planning on playing ~20 games.

It's healthier not to watch. Then after it's over you're like, "damn, he's a stud."

Hasn't happened yet

 

[Grahamburn]

The usage will never make sense to me

They're planning on playing ~20 games.

It's healthier not to watch. Then after it's over you're like, "damn, he's a stud."

Hasn't happened yet

What hasn't happened yet?

 

[jobarules]

The usage will never make sense to me

They're planning on playing ~20 games.

It's healthier not to watch. Then after it's over you're like, "damn, he's a stud."

Hasn't happened yet

What hasn't happened yet?

Them playing 20 games

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

“ToUchDoWn ReGrEsSiOn” my ***

He shoulda had 2

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

The usage will never make sense to me

They're planning on playing ~20 games.

It's healthier not to watch. Then after it's over you're like, "damn, he's a stud."

Hasn't happened yet

What hasn't happened yet?

Them playing 20 games

After 1 game he’s my RB1 in the league I drafted him as my RB2, so… that’s something at least.

 

[Grahamburn]

The usage will never make sense to me

They're planning on playing ~20 games.

It's healthier not to watch. Then after it's over you're like, "damn, he's a stud."

Hasn't happened yet

What hasn't happened yet?

Them playing 20 games

I guess I'm not following you. I'm trying to help the usage make sense. They realize Cook is their best back. They also realize giving him 30+ touches at his size means they aren't likely to have him or his efficiency will be compromised when it matters the most.