James Cook, and the Underrated Value of Running Backs

[Magox]

Over the past couple years, we’ve seen a shift—quiet, but noticeable—in how running backs are impacting games and how they’re being talked about in MVP conversations.

Last year, Saquon Barkley finished 3rd in MVP voting. The year before that, Christian McCaffrey did the same. This year, there are whispers around Jonathan Taylor, and yes—even James Cook. While none of them are likely to win MVP, the fact that RBs are consistently cracking the top 3 speaks volumes.

 

Now contrast that with wide receivers: no WR has finished top 5 in MVP voting in the last 2 years. Not Tyreek, not Jefferson, not Chase. And yet, WRs are commanding massive contracts while RBs are being undervalued—even by fans.

 

Remember the debates on this board about James Cook? So many were adamant about not paying him a dime over $12M. I and others argued that even at $15M, he’d still be undervalued. And now? Cook is a top-3 RB in the league, a centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most efficient offenses.

 

Just think about it: Khalil Shakir earns more than Cook. I love Shakir, but if you had to keep one, who’s more valuable to this team? We all know the answer—and if you say Shakir, you’re just being stubborn.

 

Cook’s emergence, paired with the best offensive line we’ve had in years, has transformed this offense. Balanced attacks are winning games. The best teams in the league are running the ball—a lot.

I’ve already made the case that WRs are overvalued in this thread:
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That’s not to say WRs aren’t important. Outside of QB, I still rank them as the most valuable offensive skill position. But if you offered me an elite DT or DE over an elite WR? I’m taking the trench player every time. They impact the game on every snap, not just the 10–15% of plays where a WR is targeted.

 

It’s time to rethink how we value positions. And maybe—just maybe—some folks owe James Cook (and the RB position) a little crow.

[Gregg]

Cook has been the Bills best player this year and that includes 17. There are a lot of great backs in this league with Barkley, Henry, Taylor, Robinson to name a few. Cook is right there with them and now in the conversation for best RB in the league. In just 8 games this year Cook has 153 carries for 867 yards with 7 TDs and an average per carry of 5.7 yards. The Bills still have 9 games to play. If he stays healthy the stats he will put up this year will be outstanding. I don't know if he will get 2,000 yards but he will be close. 

[BillsShredder83]

Everything is cyclical!  League has really started shifting back to running dominant in ~2021 (may be off a year?).  Browns, Pats, Colts, Titans all had subpar QB play and doubled down on running the ball well to compensate.  They were all teams we were better then that year, but I didnt want any of them in playoffs because of bad matchups.

 

We were high flying air assault with the best of them... good - great at stopping pass. Tre Edmunds great in pass game, awful vs run.  Those teams got further/did better than their talent suggested... they were bad matchups for a league that had went extra light w/ dfeenses to prevent/limit the pass game, while sacrificing in run defense!

 

Everyone else with subpar QB play saw this, and it started to catch on and more and more teams went that way.... now its almost in full effect. But guess what, within 3 years, i bet we start to transition again! When we got Brandon Spikes, he was pretty worthless on most downs after being a dominant player for years.... Spikes would be coveted again if he came out now. Leo Channel was a throwback coming out. People loved his college gme, but thought it wouldnt bring much value in NFL.  Chiefs were ahead of the curve though (knowingly or unknowingly).

1 minute ago, Gregg said:

Cook has been the Bills best player this year and that includes 17. There are a lot of great backs in this league with Barkley, Henry, Taylor, Robinson to name a few. Cook is right there with them and now in the conversation for best RB in the league. In just 8 games this year Cook has 153 carries for 867 yards with 7 TDs and an average per carry of 5.7 yards. The Bills still have 9 games to play. If he stays healthy the stats he will put up this year will be outstanding. I don't know if he will get 2,000 yards but he will be close. 

Gibbs is best RB in league IMO.  Great OL hes running behind too

[ddaryl]

RB Durability is the main issue here. Its hard to give a man 8 digit salary when the odds say the player will probabaly miss some significant time during the contract. This is changing somewhat, thanks to what we witnessed with Derrik Henry Saquan Barkley, and now Cook and some others. 

WR became over valued when the league shifted away from top RBs and used the pass to set up the run, but it appears that the run game is witnessing a resurgence across the league to take advantage of defenses designed heavily at stopping the pass. 


I agree the game is won and lost in the trenches, no RB is worth it if the OL can't create the holes, and same can be said about a DL that can plug those holes and rush the QB. I put a premium on the OL and DL because nothing can really work well without solid lines. No matter the phase the league is in the OL and DL have to work well for the offense and defense to work well IMO