The Buffalo Bills will face the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB James Cook.
Is James Cook Playing in Week 7?
James Cook was a full participant for the first time on Thursday since missing the Bills’ Week 6 game vs. the New York Jets. He fully practiced again on Friday and will not carry an injury destination for Sunday’s game.
Cook did not suit up for Monday Night Football against the Jets after going DNP-DNP-limited during Week 6 practices and was initially limited on Wednesday.
Head coach Sean McDermott said he expected Cook to face the Titans in Week 7, barring a setback during Friday’s practice.
The Bills may want to ease their lead back into the mix, but a new injury at the position indicates that Cook might have to resume his normal workload.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bills’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit James Cook in Week 7?
Cook entered Monday Night Football with a questionable tag due to a toe injury and was ruled out 90 minutes before kickoff, marking his first DNP of his young career.
It’s obviously a short work week heading into this game with the Titans, but his sitting last week (hopefully it didn’t cost you your matchup!) helps his prospects this week as he was thought to be on the right side of questionable.
How you value Cook in this matchup largely depends on how you see the game script playing out. In three blowouts (two wins and one loss), Buffalo’s RB1 averaged 12.3 touches, but in the two close games in which he was a part, he handled 22 touches in both.
My general thought is that this game would skew toward a competitive game due to how Tennessee looks to limit the possession count (31st in pace) — that’s the good news. The bad news is that this Titans run defense is far from a pushover.
Through six weeks, they rank third in rush defense EPA, and that’s not a noisy stat as much as I’ve been dismissing what Seattle has done up to this point. De’Von Achane, Josh Jacobs, and D’Andre Swift combined to turn 38 touches into just 16.7 PPR fantasy points against this group — that doesn’t happen by accident.
There’s a tier of featured backs in tough spots this week (James Conner, Najee Harris, and Kareem Hunt), and Cook lands right in the middle of them as a part of my low-end RB2 tier for Week 7.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 7 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
James Cook’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 7
Cook is projected to score 14.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 15.4 rushing attempts for 80.3 yards and 0.2 touchdowns. It also includes 1.3 receptions for 28.5 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
James Cook’s Week 7 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) James Cook | BUF (at KC)
3) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
4) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. BUF)
5) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at PHI)
7) Ray Davis | BUF (at KC)
8) Ty Johnson | BUF (at KC)
9) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. BUF)
10) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. WAS)
11) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at PHI)
12) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Carson Steele | KC (vs. BUF)
14) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (at KC)
15) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
