There's been much talk about the Buffalo Bills pass catchers, ranging from highly touted rookie Keon Coleman to the versatile chess piece free agent signing Curtis Samuel , and rightly so – when you lose a player like Stefon Diggs, questions are going to follow.
But what about the running back room? Buffalo has a talented backfield, and it's worth delving into to figure out how important James Cook and rookie fourth round draft pick Ray Davis will contribute to this offense.
Expect big things from James Cook in 2024
Cook headlines this backfield after having a monster second half to last season. When Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey was let go following a Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos, Joe Brady was promoted to interim OC, and eventually had the "interim" tag removed in the offseason.
From Week 11 on, James averaged 16.7 carries and 3.7 targets per game, slotting him in as a true workhorse back. Cook blew up with that workload, averaging 72.4 rushing yards and 31.9 receiving yards, while totaling four touchdowns in those seven games.
His workload continued into the playoffs. In each of the Buffalo playoff games, Cook had 18 carries, while seeing four targets in the first game, and five in the second.
Going into Brady's first full season leading the offense for Buffalo, he seems more than willing to lean on Cook as a workhorse back, aided by the fact that Cook apparently entered camp this year in better shape.
That certainly sounds like a coach that's a big fan of his lead back. Cook is going to remain a focal point of the Buffalo offense heading into his third pro season.
Ray Davis will get work as the second running back
I was a huge fan of Davis in college, so to see him get selected by Buffalo in the fourth round was very exciting. I loved the pick.
The vibes are high. Davis has snapped off multiple long runs in training camp, including taking a run 60 yards in the Bills Red and Blue game at Highmark Stadium on Friday.
For Davis, camp hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows, though. Davis has had an issue with fumbles through camp, which Brady mentioned in a press conference as being something worth paying attention to. Brady did quickly pivot to discuss how he's really happy with how Davis has responded to any mistakes, though, with his ability to flush it and move on to the next play. Davis is going to need to clean that up to secure his role in the offense, but the burst, the footwork, and the vision have all been on display throughout camp.
The Bills offense will run the ball plenty, and the more balanced they can be, the better things will go for Josh Allen and company. Bills Mafia has plenty to be excited about with this backfield.
Related: NFL analyst pinpoints the one thing that's holding Bills QB Josh Allen back
Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp .
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