Bills Top 25 Player Rankings: RB James Cook Slots In at No. 2

The Buffalo Bills’ countdown of the 25 most important players heading into the 2026 season has reached its final stretch, and reigning NFL rushing champion James Cook checks in at No. 2. It’s hard to argue with the placement. Cook did something no Bills back had done in half a century, and he’s coming back with more to prove.

Buffalo hadn’t had a league rushing champion since O.J. Simpson led the NFL in 1976 — a drought Bills On SI covered when Cook finally broke it in 2025. Now he opens the first year of a four-year contract extension he signed last August — reported at $46 million by the team’s outlets and cited at $48 million by the Associated Press, which reported the deal included $30 million guaranteed — looking to add a Lombardi Trophy to his resume, something Bills On SI detailed as his singular focus this offseason.

“I mean, it [winning the rushing title] was good, but the ultimate goal is to win a championship. And that didn’t happen,” Cook told reporters during minicamp in Orchard Park in June.

JAMES COOK. 44-YARD TD.

BUFvsCLE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/LuloZeFLqO

— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025

That quote says everything about where Cook’s head is. A rushing title is a nice line on a resume. It doesn’t mean much if the season ends the same way it always has — short of the Super Bowl. With offensive coordinator Joe Brady now the head coach and most of the blocking unit intact, there’s a real case Cook could put together the best rushing season in franchise history.

James Cook’s 2025 Season, By the Numbers

Buffalo leaned on Cook more than almost anyone in the league leaned on their back. The Bills called rushing plays at the second-highest rate in the NFL at 49.84%. Cook cashed that trust in for 1,621 yards on 309 carries — 5.2 yards a pop — and 12 touchdowns.

That rushing total ranks as the sixth-highest for any NFL rushing leader over the past 11 seasons — and Cook barely played in Week 18. He touched the ball twice against the New York Jets in the regular-season finale with the title already in reach. Play the whole game, and 1,700 yards was well within range.

The receiving numbers stayed almost identical to 2024: 33 catches for 291 yards and three scores, compared to 32 catches, 258 yards and two touchdowns the year before. Bills On SI’s Alex Brasky has pointed out that with some blocking pieces gone, leaning on Cook more in the passing game could be one way Brady adjusts the offense.

Running behind left tackle Dion Dawkins remains Cook’s bread and butter, according to his Next Gen Stats profile. However Brady chooses to design the run game, Cook staying on the field and staying effective is central to how Buffalo wins games.

Controlling the Clock

Cook’s workload did more than pad a stat sheet. It let Buffalo dictate tempo. The Bills led the NFL in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 33 minutes and 18 seconds per game — a full minute and two seconds more than the second-place Los Angeles Chargers.

Sustaining that kind of ball control isn’t just about the guy carrying it. Buffalo will need either Alec Anderson or Austin Corbett locked in at left guard, and Ben VanSumeren or Jason Acker stepping up as a viable replacement at fullback for Reggie Gilliam, who left in free agency for the rival Patriots after playing 235 snaps last season — 20.76% of Buffalo’s offensive total.

The workload split tells its own story. Excluding the Week 18 finale, Cook averaged 21.3 carries per game in Bills wins and just 14.4 in losses. When Buffalo leans on him, Buffalo tends to win.

The Bills are heading into a transitional Year 1 under Brady as head coach, but Cook’s role isn’t going anywhere. If anything, it gets more important as Buffalo chases its first Super Bowl title.

Bills Top 25 Rankings So Far

• 25. RB Ty Johnson, June 16
• 24. CB Maxwell Hairston, June 17
• 23. K Tyler Bass, June 18
• 22. CB Dee Alford, June 19
• 21. LB Dorian Williams, June 20
• 20. RB Ray Davis, June 22
• 19. S C.J. Gardner-Johnson, June 23
• 18. G Alec Anderson, June 24
• 17. TE Dawson Knox, June 25
• 16. DT Deone Walker, June 27
• 15. TE Dalton Kincaid, June 28
• 14. G O’Cyrus Torrence, June 29
• 13. LB Terrel Bernard, July 1
• 12. C Connor McGovern, June 30
• 11. LB Greg Rousseau, July 2
• 10. WR Khalil Shakir, July 3
• 9. LB Bradley Chubb, July 7
• 8. S Cole Bishop, July 8
• 7. OT Spencer Brown, July 14
• 6. DT Ed Oliver, July 15
• 5. WR DJ Moore, July 16
• 4. CB Christian Benford, July 17
• 3. OT Dion Dawkins, July 18