Rd 2, Pick 63 (31): RB James Cook, Georgia

[Logic]

I wasn't here to discuss the pick last night, and I haven't combed through all 21 pages, so perhaps this has been said, but...

The Bills decided last year in the second regular season Patriots game that the primary way they were gonna beat two-high coverage going forward was to throw checkdowns and dumpoffs and utilize the running back in the passing game. They said "to hell with running the defense out of it, we're gonna THROW them out of it by utilizing the vacated space in the middle of the field". Josh was patient and hit Singletary a bunch, the plan worked, and the Patriots shifted tactics.

Cook's addition has a few purposes: to provide a back who can actually make these dumpoffs and checkdowns DANGEROUS. To turn a 3 yard pass into a 12 yard gain. To help revive our long-dead screen game. To add speed and home-run ability to our running back stable, which it currently lacks. And finally, he's not JUST a dumpoff/checkdown back. He can legitimately split out not only into the slot but out wide and win routes against corners. You'll see him start out wide and then motion into the back field, or vice versa. You'll see him in the slot. You'll see him running reverses. He's gonna do A LOT in this offense.

Picture the offense coming out in 12 personnel -- Davis, Diggs, Knox, Howard, Cook. This screams "running formation" to the defense. But then the offense goes empty. The linebackers are now forced to try to cover Knox, Howard, and Cook. THAT'S the future of the Bills offense. Still passing it, still spreading it out, but doing so with less predictable and more versatile pro personnel. 

[NewEra]

1 minute ago, Dr. Who said:

Live near Athens. Cook is a great pick. Has slot receiver abilities.

He is a great pick….but he’s not going to run the ball very much imo.  I’d say 2-5 carries this year with 2-5 targets.  Then 5-10 targets in the future.  All depends on how teams are trying to defend us and get mismatches with LBs 

2 minutes ago, Logic said:

I wasn't here to discuss the pick last night, and I haven't combed through all 21 pages, so perhaps this has been said, but...

The Bills decided last year in the second regular season Patriots game that the primary way they were gonna beat two-high coverage going forward was to throw checkdowns and dumpoffs and utilize the running back in the passing game. They said "to hell with running the defense out of it, we're gonna THROW them out of it by utilizing the vacated space in the middle of the field". Josh was patient and hit Singletary a bunch, the plan worked, and the Patriots shifted tactics.

Cook's addition has a few purposes: to provide a back who can actually make these dumpoffs and checkdowns DANGEROUS. To turn a 3 yard pass into a 12 yard gain. To help revive our long-dead screen game. To add speed and home-run ability to our running back stable, which it currently lacks. And finally, he's not JUST a dumpoff/checkdown back. He can legitimately split out not only into the slot but out wide and win routes against corners. You'll see him start out wide and then motion into the back field, or vice versa. You'll see him in the slot. You'll see him running reverses. He's gonna do A LOT in this offense.

Picture the offense coming out in 12 personnel -- Davis, Diggs, Knox, Howard, Cook. This screams "running formation" to the defense. But then the offense goes empty. The linebackers are now forced to try to cover Knox, Howard, and Cook. THAT'S the future of the Bills offense. Still passing it, still spreading it out, but doing so with less predictable and more versatile pro personnel. 

Exactly.

 

adapting, adjusting and having the ability to be multiple in our sets.   On offense and defense….now that we have a corner that can excel in man.  

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

As the season goes on Cook will become a 3 down back.

 

Imagine Cook being in all 3 downs and then motioning out wide at the last second drawing LB coverage on 2nd or 3rd down. 

 

Cook is the missing link to this Bills offense.

 

Unstoppable at the X,Y and Z positions on the offense and adding another pass catching weapon at RB.

 

The defense can't cover everyone 

[Logic]

Not sure if this has been posted, but this video shows that Cook was much more excited to be picked by the Bills than the broadcast video made it seem:
 

 

[Doc]

44 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

Funny thing about draft time is people know the cost of everything but the value of almost nothing.  Buffalo was picking at 25 originally and used a 4th to move up to 23.  It's gonna take a couple years, but at this point I'm cool with trading a 3rd to move up to grab a WR at 15 when your depth there is porous.  After all, Buffalo getting another LB for the defense isn't a huge cost because those players aren't impacting games as much as a WR does.  You can sign decent UFA LBs at value prices without burning top 100 picks anyway.  

 

Loads of WR's available after the draft?  Come on dude.  If you're talking UDFA's...yeah maybe 1 out of 20 becomes something.  As for vets...try fitting them under the cap constraints this team faces each season now.  

 

To your final comment...KC last season was the better offense and threw the ball better.  The Cheaps offense has been better at getting YAC and is overall less reliant on their QB carrying the ball. 

 

LOL!  You know that moving from 25 to 15 (for...Dotson?  Burks?) wouldn't have just cost a 3rd, right?  It would have been a 2nd rounder, minimum.  Sorry, not doing it for Dotson much less Burks.

 

And veteran WRs.  Who will come cheap because of the glut.  But with Diggs, Davis and Crowder as their top-3, there's probably no room for a veteran except for depth.  It's time to give Davis his shot.

 

KC lost because their offense got shutdown in the 2nd half of that game.  That didn't happen by accident.

 

6 minutes ago, NewEra said:

He is a great pick….but he’s not going to run the ball very much imo.  I’d say 2-5 carries this year with 2-5 targets.  Then 5-10 targets in the future.  All depends on how teams are trying to defend us and get mismatches with LBs 

Exactly.

 

adapting, adjusting and having the ability to be multiple in our sets.   On offense and defense….now that we have a corner that can excel in man.  

 

I see him running the ball quite a bit.  They can't telegraph that he's just a receiving back.

[NewEra]

3 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

LOL!  You know that moving from 25 to 15 (for...Dotson?  Burks?) wouldn't have just cost a 3rd, right?  It would have been a 2nd rounder, minimum.  Sorry, not doing it for Dotson much less Burks.

 

And veteran WRs.  Who will come cheap because of the glut.  But with Diggs, Davis and Crowder as their top-3, there's probably no room for a veteran except for depth.  It's time to give Davis his shot.

 

KC lost because their offense got shutdown in the 2nd half of that game.  That didn't happen by accident.

 

 

I see him running the ball quite a bit.  They can't telegraph that he's just a receiving back.

We don’t have to give him more than 2-5 carries game to keep a D honest. How many snaps do you think he’s going to get this year?  Motor will be our unquestioned starter imo and get 3x as many carries as Cook.  I see Cook as an versatile pass catcher that we can move all around (backfield, motion, slot, outside) that needs to add some muscle to absorb what the nfl brings. 
 

The most carries James white ever averaged per game in a season was 5.8.  They’ll look to get mismatches with LBs and take advantage of his speed.  Not much a Lb can do matched up man with a guy like Cook. It doesn’t matter if they’re looking for it….once we get the matchup we want, it’s already over for the D
 

 

[Doc]

3 minutes ago, NewEra said:

We don’t have to give him more than 2-5 carries game to keep a D honest. How many snaps do you think he’s going to get this year?  Motor will be our unquestioned starter imo and get 3x as many carries as Cook.  I see Cook as an versatile pass catcher that we can move all around (backfield, motion, slot, outside) that needs to add some muscle to absorb what the nfl brings. 
 

The most carries James white ever averaged per game in a season was 5.8.  They’ll look to get mismatches with LBs and take advantage of his speed.  Not much a Lb can do matched up man with a guy like Cook. It doesn’t matter if they’re looking for it….once we get the matchup we want, it’s already over for the D

 

I think 2:1 Motor:Cook.  So around 8 carries a game.

[Motorin']

46 minutes ago, NewEra said:

It’s blazing acceleration, suddenness and route running. 

 

He can be a 50+ reception per year guy, and is a legitimate threat that will make opposing defenses worry about him coming out of the backfield. 

[LABILLBACKER]

39 minutes ago, Logic said:

I wasn't here to discuss the pick last night, and I haven't combed through all 21 pages, so perhaps this has been said, but...

The Bills decided last year in the second regular season Patriots game that the primary way they were gonna beat two-high coverage going forward was to throw checkdowns and dumpoffs and utilize the running back in the passing game. They said "to hell with running the defense out of it, we're gonna THROW them out of it by utilizing the vacated space in the middle of the field". Josh was patient and hit Singletary a bunch, the plan worked, and the Patriots shifted tactics.

Cook's addition has a few purposes: to provide a back who can actually make these dumpoffs and checkdowns DANGEROUS. To turn a 3 yard pass into a 12 yard gain. To help revive our long-dead screen game. To add speed and home-run ability to our running back stable, which it currently lacks. And finally, he's not JUST a dumpoff/checkdown back. He can legitimately split out not only into the slot but out wide and win routes against corners. You'll see him start out wide and then motion into the back field, or vice versa. You'll see him in the slot. You'll see him running reverses. He's gonna do A LOT in this offense.

Picture the offense coming out in 12 personnel -- Davis, Diggs, Knox, Howard, Cook. This screams "running formation" to the defense. But then the offense goes empty. The linebackers are now forced to try to cover Knox, Howard, and Cook. THAT'S the future of the Bills offense. Still passing it, still spreading it out, but doing so with less predictable and more versatile pro personnel. 

There's a reason you're Logic. Well explained.....

[Magox]

My apologies if this has already been posted.

 

 

The guy doesn't fumble it that often, gets a high Yards per run and Yards per catch and hardly ever drops it.

 

I remember reading somewhere that he has caught over 85% of the targets thrown his way.

 

 

[Warcodered]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

Not sure if this has been posted, but this video shows that Cook was much more excited to be picked by the Bills than the broadcast video made it seem:
 

 

Draft coverage caught him right after he just managed to calm the room down, just some poor timing.

[BurpleBull]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

It’s blazing acceleration, suddenness and route running. 

 

I'll give you route-running, but what the heck is blazing acceleration?

 

Do we notice "blazing acceleration" in a RB that has 4.8 speed?

 

And then how do you define "suddenness"? (And please be honest)

 

When I hear 'suddenness', I'm thinking quick change of direction; I don't see that in Cook any more than I do blazing acceleration.

 

This is the only Beane pick since he's started making our picks that I absolutely do not like off top.

[Andy1]

Here is a report on Cook from https://nfldraft.theringer.com

 

SCOUTING REPORT BY DANNY KELLY

Cook has a wiry frame and a highly versatile skill set. The younger brother of Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, James was a four-star prospect out of Miami, Florida, and a top-50 overall prospect nationally, per 247Sports. He took his talents to Georgia and became a four-year contributor there, tallying 1,503 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career to go with 67 catches for 730 yards and another six scores. He was a crucial piece to the team’s national championship run in 2021, turning 113 rushes into 728 yards and seven touchdowns while reeling in 27 passes for 284 yards and four scores through the air. 

Cook is both extremely quick and effortlessly smooth as a runner. He’s smaller than his older brother but brings a familiar running gait, utilizing stutter-skip and jump-cut moves in the open field that often leave defenders grasping for a cloud of dust. He’s shifty in the short area, showing good burst to accelerate and slip through small cracks in the defensive front. He has good vision to find the best rush track, and shows the patience to let his blocks set up in front of him, drafting off his offensive linemen before juking away from the defense. And he makes defenders miss with blur-inducing cuts and sudden jukes, and strings cuts together at the second level to find daylight.

Where Cook truly stands out, though, is as a pass catcher. He’s capable of lining up all across the formation as a receiver (like when he ran a vertical route from the wing against Alabama in 2020, tracking the ball the whole way) and brings soft hands and natural skills as a route runner. He catches the ball away from his frame and shows the ability to go down and scoop it up when a throw comes in low. He shakes coverage when the play breaks down and gives his quarterback an outlet option. Cook has joker-piece potential as a hybrid pass catcher and running back at the next level. 

Cook is undersized by NFL standards and isn’t a powerful runner who breaks through contact or pushes the pile. He brings potential to add weight but at his current size he’s unlikely to be a volume runner in the NFL. He never got the bulk of the workload at Georgia, instead playing a complementary role to Zamir White. Lacks bulk to stymie blitzers in pass pro.

WHY HE COULD RISE

Cook brings the type of line-him-anywhere versatility in the passing game that NFL teams covet; he’s sudden and quick as a runner, too.

WHY HE COULD FALL

He lacks size and some teams may view him as a third-down complementary back only.

[Logic]

4 minutes ago, Andy1 said:

Here is a report on Cook from https://nfldraft.theringer.com

 

SCOUTING REPORT BY DANNY KELLY

Cook has a wiry frame and a highly versatile skill set. The younger brother of Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, James was a four-star prospect out of Miami, Florida, and a top-50 overall prospect nationally, per 247Sports. He took his talents to Georgia and became a four-year contributor there, tallying 1,503 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career to go with 67 catches for 730 yards and another six scores. He was a crucial piece to the team’s national championship run in 2021, turning 113 rushes into 728 yards and seven touchdowns while reeling in 27 passes for 284 yards and four scores through the air. 

Cook is both extremely quick and effortlessly smooth as a runner. He’s smaller than his older brother but brings a familiar running gait, utilizing stutter-skip and jump-cut moves in the open field that often leave defenders grasping for a cloud of dust. He’s shifty in the short area, showing good burst to accelerate and slip through small cracks in the defensive front. He has good vision to find the best rush track, and shows the patience to let his blocks set up in front of him, drafting off his offensive linemen before juking away from the defense. And he makes defenders miss with blur-inducing cuts and sudden jukes, and strings cuts together at the second level to find daylight.

Where Cook truly stands out, though, is as a pass catcher. He’s capable of lining up all across the formation as a receiver (like when he ran a vertical route from the wing against Alabama in 2020, tracking the ball the whole way) and brings soft hands and natural skills as a route runner. He catches the ball away from his frame and shows the ability to go down and scoop it up when a throw comes in low. He shakes coverage when the play breaks down and gives his quarterback an outlet option. Cook has joker-piece potential as a hybrid pass catcher and running back at the next level. 

Cook is undersized by NFL standards and isn’t a powerful runner who breaks through contact or pushes the pile. He brings potential to add weight but at his current size he’s unlikely to be a volume runner in the NFL. He never got the bulk of the workload at Georgia, instead playing a complementary role to Zamir White. Lacks bulk to stymie blitzers in pass pro.

WHY HE COULD RISE

Cook brings the type of line-him-anywhere versatility in the passing game that NFL teams covet; he’s sudden and quick as a runner, too.

WHY HE COULD FALL

He lacks size and some teams may view him as a third-down complementary back only.

As for the second bolded part: This is the key, right here. A great fit for the Bills offense, and will become Josh's favorite outlet when the play breaks down.

As for the first bolded part, the vertical route from the wing against 'Bama:
 

My pants just got a little tighter.

[Buffalo Junction]

2 hours ago, Logic said:

I wasn't here to discuss the pick last night, and I haven't combed through all 21 pages, so perhaps this has been said, but...

The Bills decided last year in the second regular season Patriots game that the primary way they were gonna beat two-high coverage going forward was to throw checkdowns and dumpoffs and utilize the running back in the passing game. They said "to hell with running the defense out of it, we're gonna THROW them out of it by utilizing the vacated space in the middle of the field". Josh was patient and hit Singletary a bunch, the plan worked, and the Patriots shifted tactics.

Cook's addition has a few purposes: to provide a back who can actually make these dumpoffs and checkdowns DANGEROUS. To turn a 3 yard pass into a 12 yard gain. To help revive our long-dead screen game. To add speed and home-run ability to our running back stable, which it currently lacks. And finally, he's not JUST a dumpoff/checkdown back. He can legitimately split out not only into the slot but out wide and win routes against corners. You'll see him start out wide and then motion into the back field, or vice versa. You'll see him in the slot. You'll see him running reverses. He's gonna do A LOT in this offense.

Picture the offense coming out in 12 personnel -- Davis, Diggs, Knox, Howard, Cook. This screams "running formation" to the defense. But then the offense goes empty. The linebackers are now forced to try to cover Knox, Howard, and Cook. THAT'S the future of the Bills offense. Still passing it, still spreading it out, but doing so with less predictable and more versatile pro personnel. 

Coupled with McKenzie these things actually apply to spread formations as well. They can legitimately run “five wide” and have two running options (three of you count Allen). They might even be able to spread out 11 or 12 personnel to create matchup nightmares which could be deadly in a no huddle. It’s gonna be fun to see what they do with some of these personnel groups this season. There’s certainly more schematic flexibility with the additions they’ve made thus far. 

[947]

Similar profile to McCaffrey, but without the insane college usage rate. Makes me think if we use him like McCaffrey probably should've been used (instead of as a workhorse), he can be highly effective in moderate doses as a runner & several targets per game.

 

James Cook (5'11" 199 lbs)

40- 4.42

10yd Split- 1.54

Vertical- 33"

Broad-124"

Yards per touch- 9.04

1 TD per every 14.9 touches

 

 

Christian McCaffrey (5'11" 202 lbs)

40- 4.48

10yd Split- 1.55

Vertical-37.5"

Broad- 121"

Yards per touch- 7.01

1 TD per every 23.5 touches

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

 

Mike Rob  👍🏻 
FWIW.  

[atlbillsfan1975]

4 hours ago, BurpleBull said:

 

I don't agree that he runs the ball very well, that's why I don't think he should've been drafted in the 2nd.

 

He didn't need to be an every down work-horse, I just needed to see other qualities traditionally associated with really good RBs.

 

I literally don't see anything outside of speed and pass-catching, and it isn't even blazing speed. 

Was there a RB you did like in the draft? 

[Mango]

17 hours ago, Mango said:

He might turn out to be the most talented pass catching RB that we healthy scratch every Sunday. 

 

Sheesh. A couple of down votes. It was a joke. Tough crowd….
 

 

[BaaadThingsMan]

Stud. Lots of tread left on his tires too.