Start James Cook III. Cook III is projected for 16.8 PPR points vs 16.1 for Nico Collins, and faces the 5th-toughest defense against RBs this week.
Updated Nov 7, 4:39 PM ET
| James Cook III RB · BUF | Nico Collins WR · HOU | |
|---|---|---|
| Projection (Week 9, avg of sources) | 16.8 | 16.1 |
| Floor (lowest source) | 14.9 | 13.9 |
| Ceiling (highest source) | 18.5 | 18.6 |
| StatChasers projection | 16.7 (RB8) | 15.8 (WR12) |
| Opponent | vs MIN | vs LAC |
| Opponent vs. position | 5th-toughest (18.4 pts/g allowed) | 16th-toughest (30.3 pts/g allowed) |
| Recent usage | 64% carry share (last 3) | 18% target share (last 3) |
| Position | RB | WR |
| Our call | START · Strong RB1 | START · Strong WR1 |
Settle every start/sit call with projections, matchup, recent usage and floor-versus-ceiling for your exact scoring settings.
Start James Cook III. Cook III projects for 16.8 PPR points vs MIN, against 16.1 for Nico Collins vs LAC: a 0.7-point edge.
The projection is the average of every source that carries each player this week, and a player listed Out or Doubtful is never the start.
James Cook III is projected to score more: 16.8 PPR points to 16.1 for Nico Collins.
The sources range from 14.9 to 18.5 for Cook III and from 13.9 to 18.6 for Collins. The ranges overlap, so Collins outscoring Cook III is a realistic result.
James Cook III is the safer start: even the most cautious projection source has Cook III at 14.9 PPR points, against 13.9 for Nico Collins.
Start the higher floor when you are favored and only need to avoid a dud.
Nico Collins has the higher ceiling: the most optimistic projection source has Collins at 18.6 PPR points, against 18.5 for James Cook III.
Start the higher ceiling when you are the underdog and need points more than safety.
James Cook III plays MIN and Nico Collins plays LAC in Week 9.
By fantasy points allowed to each position, Cook III faces the 5th-toughest defense against RBs and Collins faces the 16th-toughest defense against WRs, so Nico Collins has the softer matchup.
Each projection already accounts for the opponent, so a soft matchup is a tiebreaker, not a reason to bench the higher projection.
Over his recent games James Cook III has drawn 64% of his team's carries, and Nico Collins 18% of his team's targets.
These numbers are in PPR. Full PPR adds a point per catch, so it helps whichever player sees more targets, which here is Nico Collins.
Switch between PPR, Half PPR and Standard on the board above to rescore both players from the same sources.
Neither James Cook III nor Nico Collins has an injury designation for Week 9.
Designations change through the week, so check again before kickoff; this page updates with each refresh.
Each figure is the average of the projection sources that carry the player this week: StatChasers, Sleeper, ESPN, numberFire, FFToday and the betting markets (sportsbook player props). James Cook III is projected by 6 of them and Nico Collins by 6.
A source with no number for a player is left out of the average rather than counted as a zero.