Bills' Abysmal Ranking Among Best Skill Position Talent an Indictment of James Cook

The Buffalo Bills have one of the best running backs in the league and that’s still not enough to convince everybody that they have one of the NFL’s best collections of skill position talent surrounding Josh Allen.

In fact, some believe they have one of the worst.

Cook beat out the likes of two-time rushing champion Derrick Henry and 2025 first-team All-Pros Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey for last year’s rushing crown, running for 1,621 yards during one of the most remarkable seasons put forth by a Bills running back in team history. Still, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes Buffalo’s entire skill group is among the worst in the league.

Barnwell ranked the Bills’ skill position talent as the fourth-worst group in the NFL, which is one position worse than they were ranked on this list from a season ago and ahead of only the lowly Cleveland Browns,

New York Giants and AFC East rival Miami Dolphins. The ESPN analyst acknowledges Cook’s fantastic “vision, tackle-breaking and ability to create explosive plays.” However, he knocked Cook for his seven fumbles a year ago, including regular season and playoffs, pointing to a long-standing issue for the Bills’ running back.

“Even using his career average rate, Cook has fumbled once every 81 touches during the regular season,” wrote Barnwell. “As a sign of how much that matters, Cook’s fumbles were enough to suggest that a back who averaged 5.2 yards per carry and scored 12 times generated a negative EPA as a rusher in 2025.”

According to Next Gen Stats, Cook’s 2025 rushing EPA of -12.6 was the worst mark of his career.

Mo[o]re cause for concern for the Bills’ offense

Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore (2) runs with the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The wide-ranging criticism from Barnwell didn’t stop with the Buffalo running back, as he continued to call out the Bills’ wide receiver corps as something that is “difficult to get excited about.” For him, DJ Moore does not move the needle quite as much as Brandon Beane and company would like you to believe.

“After all, 2025 was comfortably Moore’s worst season as a pro, as he fell down the priority list at receiver for the Bears as the year went along,” he wrote. “Moore hasn’t missed a game in five years, which is a positive, but he profiles as one of the least imposing top wideouts in the league.”

Moore finished the ’25 season with a career-low 682 receiving yards, while his Pro Football Focus receiving grade of 65.5 was the worst of his NFL career.

The Bills have undergone a distinct transition this offseason, beginning with promoting Joe Brady to head coach and adding Moore and a few other key pieces through trade, free agency and the draft. However, they have plenty left to prove before those in league circles believe in the changes they’ve made, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

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