Buffalo Bills running back James Cook has been hit with a disappointing prediction for the 2026 NFL season.
The Buffalo Bills have one of the top producing running backs in the NFL with James Cook.
Last offseason, the two sides were stuck in a contract standoff. However, they were able to work things out and Cook received a lucrative four-year, $48 million deal to remain with the Bills.
During the 2025 NFL season, Cook made that investment pay off for Buffalo. He ended up playing in all 17 regular season games, carrying the football 309 times for 1,621 yards and 12 touchdowns. Those numbers average out to 5.2 yards per attempt.
In addition to his rushing numbers, Cook also caught 33 passes for 291 yards and two scores.
With those numbers, Cook ended up winning the NFL rushing title. He narrowly beat out Baltimore Ravens superstar Derrick Henry, who had 1,595 rushing yards.
Keeping that in mind, the Bills' star running back has been hit with a disappointing prediction for the upcoming 2026 season.
Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport has predicted that Cook will not repeat as the NFL's rushing champion. Instead, he has Henry beating out the Buffalo star.
“Generally speaking, running backs tend to start to decline at about the age of 28. The wear-and-tear of multiple NFL seasons takes its toll. They lose a little explosiveness and tend to become more injury-prone,” Davenport wrote. “Someone forgot to tell that to Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens.”
Despite the prediction that Cook will not be able to defend his rushing title, the Bills are still in good shape.
Throughout the course of the NFL offseason, Brandon Beane and the Buffalo front office made some aggressive moves. The team acquired star wide receiver D.J. Moore from the Chicago Bears, signed veteran star pass rusher Bradley Chubb in free agency, and also signed veteran free agent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
All three of those moves will improve the Bills' chances of winning a Super Bowl this year.
If Cook can continue playing at close to the same level he showed in 2025, the Buffalo offense should be incredibly difficult to stop. With Josh Allen leading the charge through the air, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the Bills' offense.
