Bills Trade for Christian McCaffrey or Saquon Barkley – Or Let James Cook?

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook scored the first touchdown of his NFL career on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Through the first four weeks of the season, a running back had yet to score a rushing touchdown for the Buffalo Bills. That changed when Bills rookie James Cook sliced through the middle of the offensive line, dashing his way to a 24-yard touchdown in Sunday’s 38-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The touchdown is the first of Cook’s Bills and NFL career, but serves as a wakeup call. Maybe it’s time to give the rookie the reins in the Buffalo backfield.

Or …

Yes, we are aware of the thoughts of trading for Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey or the Giants’ Saquon Barkley. But the Bills already made an investment here …

Cook has averaged an extremely efficient 5.2 yards per carry this season, compared to Devin Singletary (the current lead back in Buffalo) who is averaging 4.3. Additionally, Cook is averaging 2.6 yards per rush after contact this season, compared to Singletary’s 1.4 rushing yards after contact per rush. Pro Football Focus also grades Cook higher this season with a 69.4 rating, compared to 66.6 for Singletary.

When Buffalo selected Cook at the end of the second round in this year’s draft, many Bills fans raved about the pick. The expectation was that Cook would take the lead eventually in the Buffalo backfield. With Cook having scored his first rushing touchdown in Buffalo, when is better than now?

Again, we get the McCaffrey attraction, as we write here. However, the answer and future at running back may already be in the Bills locker room. After his performance against Pittsburgh, we say it’s time for Singletary to make a little room for the rookie … and for the Bills to let James Cook.

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