Bills: James Cook shines in limited role during rookie season
The Buffalo Bills could have found another diamond in the rough. Luckily, it seems like barely anyone is noticing.
Feed James Cook, enough said.
If you ask the Bills Mafia, the decision should be an easy one. While there's plenty of love for Devin Singletary, it appears that the Buffalo Bills may be moving forward without him.
Early in the season, Cook had a costly fumble that resulted in him missing some playing time. After fighting his way back to meaningful minutes, Cook made the most of every opportunity.
While Bills Mafia has been vocal about the potential superstar ability Cook possesses, it seems as though national media pundits have caught wind, too.
Cook's limited snaps still yielded phenomenal results. There weren't many draft analysts that had this type of player landing with the Bills.
DYAR is defined as defense-adjusted yards above replacement and is a metric that compares the performance of a player to a replacement-level baseline rather than the league average. This allows for a translation of total yards.
Needless to say, it's an impressive list for Cook to be included on.
Sky-high expectations
Before last season, Bills fans understood the backfield was going to be more of a committee than a one-man wrecking crew.
With a few failed attempts at nabbing a veteran running back this past offseason, Buffalo looked toward the draft to fill in the RB2, or eventual RB1, role.
There were high hopes for Cook even on the night of the draft. The pass-catching back had an innate ability to turn a simple handoff into a highlight reel play during his tenure in Georgia.
James Cook has quickly emerged as the running back of the future for Buffalo. While many analysts believed he would be a good complimentary piece, Cook may just win the entire backfield himself.
The quiet-mannered and often-not-smiling running back quickly defied the odds with limited reps. A jump in year two could change his career trajectory in a significant way.
So close
What's even more impressive is a feat that the talented running back narrowly missed out on.
Cook, with just 11 more carries, could have been sitting atop the entire NFL in terms of average yards per carry. While it's impossible to say what Cook would have done with 11 more carries, he continues to showcase why he is one of the best young stars in the NFL.
Dorsey's inability to get the rookie into meaningful minutes allows Cook to continue to fly under the radar.
Bills Mafia is going to be expecting big things from the talented running back next season.
Featured image JAMIE GERMANO / USA TODAY NETWORK
