Getting to know rookie RB James Cook

Overview

The Bills added another playmaker to help bolster the offense by selecting running back James Cook out of Georgia in the second round of April’s draft. Out of every single Bills selection in the draft, the Cook selection quickly became my favorite. Since the College Football Playoff, I have been clamoring for the Bills to select him based on his explosiveness out of the backfield, catching ability, vision, and ability to get to the second level of the defense with ease.

If you watched any of the CFP, you realized how dominant and vital he was in Georgia’s wins over Michigan and Alabama – both teams who had excellent defenses. The Bills needed to add additional playmakers out the backfield, and we saw GM Brandon Beane try to do that in free agency with by going directly after J.D. McKissic. If there was one area in the Bills offense that needed an extra playmaker, it was the RB room.

We know Devin Singletary is the RB1, but in his time with the Bills, he hasn’t shown a consistent ability to catch passes out of the backfield. Zack Moss is a ground-and-pound RB that likes to run between the tackles, and James Cook is an immediate upgrade over the recently-signed Duke Johnson.

Overall, the Bills’ selection of Cook gives Josh Allen and company another playmaker that can both run in between the tackles and catch passes out of the backfield.

The Good

James Cook pops off the board when breaking down his tape and going through his measurables. At the combine, he ran a 4.42 40-yard dash, which is a perfect time for a RB. Something that I have noticed from watching him in college and going over his game tape is his vision. Anybody that tells you that James Cook struggles with vision has not done the proper research on him. You can not be an elite change of pace back and be elite at getting to the second level of the defense if you lack in the vision department. Those things don’t all come together and work in unison if your vision is poor, which for the record, is not the case with Cook.

This type of vision helps Cook have is the ability to be patient after the catch behind his blockers, as well. Someone that you automatically think of is Le’Veon Bell and his time on the Steelers. His ability to be patient behind his blockers in Pittsburgh helped him develop into an elite RB. I’m not saying Cook is Bell, but for him to already possess the ability and the knowledge to be patient behind blockers and know when to use his burst bodes well for him as a prospect. The mismatch he brings on the field is something very fascinating.

Cook is a very big RB but has elite speed and cutting ability. When he gets to the second level of the defense, which he often does, he becomes a mismatch for the opposing team’s linebackers. That is something that the Bills can use to their advantage, as they can create many mismatches on the offensive side of the ball. The final thing about Cook is that he was in a RB committee for all of his college career – most recently with Zamir White, who was also selected in this year’s draft. This is a good thing because he does not have a lot of wear and tear on his legs like some of the other RBs in the class, which could help his longevity in the league.

The Bad

As you evaluate players in the NFL and mainly prospects that are coming out of college, there will always be flaws in their game because, in my opinion, there is no such thing as a perfect prospect. James Cook is no different. But for the record, Cook does not have a ton of weaknesses in his game and is a very polished and established player. Some of the things that I have noticed, as well as scouts, is that from time to time, he struggles to run inside the tackles against more prominent interior defenders. He prefers to catch the ball out of the backfield or run outside the tackles.

Running between the tackles will be something he has to work on if he wants to become an every-down back for the Bills. Something that I don’t think will hinder his ability with the Bills, but is something he struggled with in college, is his value near the end zone. Because he doesn’t excel at running between the tackles, he doesn’t give teams much value in their goal line packages, but that is something that the Bills don’t need him to do. They have Zack Moss and Devin Singletary for those exact reason – and they also have Josh Allen’s running ability. And, something that the Bills would love for him to improve on right away is his consistency as a blocker. He wasn’t a lousy blocker but he did lack consistency at Georgia.

The Bills now have their one-two punch with Singletary and Cook, and that alone is an upgrade to the running back room. With both offering a bit of a different skillset, defenses will be guessing as to what the Bills offense will hit ’em with next.