James Cook emerged as one of the league’s better running backs last year, finishing No. 4 in rushing yards.
Heading into his third season with Buffalo, the 2022 second-round pick is in a good position to be even more effective in 2024.
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady said during his Tuesday press conference that Cook is in better shape during this year’s OTAs than he was in the past.
“You can look at him and can tell he put in a lot of work this offseason,” Brady said. “He looks different — in a good way. So, I’m excited to see the kind of run style that he plays with this season.”
One factor that could play into how the Bills approach their running backs is workload. Cook registered 237 carries with 44 receptions for a total of 281 touches in 2023. Cook totaled only 297 touches in four seasons at Georgia, including 230 carries.
“I think a lot of that is kind of we’ll see,” Brady said. “We’ll see how [he does], as he’s kind of going with it. We feel confident in the room that we have that whoever is playing running back and carrying the football, they’re going to do a damn good job. With regards to setting a certain target number, I think a lot of that is just kind of seeing how his body holds up throughout the season, what he can do.
“It’s the same thing for the running back position, we’re going to figure out which runs those guys do a good job of and kind of put them in those positions.”
Through two seasons, Cook has registered 1,629 rushing yards with four rushing TDs. He’s also caught 65 passes for 625 yards with five touchdowns.