James Cook's Historic Run Somehow Not Good Enough to Crack Current NFL Top 5

Is the NFL rushing title essentially a meaningless accomplishment?

It's not impossible for one to reach that conclusion after seeing where Buffalo Bills' running back James Cook landed in Sports Illustrated's league-wide position-by-position Top 10 rankings.

Although the best pure ball carrier may not always lead the league in yardage, one has to be pretty darn good to achieve such a feat.

Certainly, the NFL's No. 1 rusher should be viewed higher than the No. 8 running back on the circuit. Instead, Cook finds himself behind Miami Dolphins' running back Devon Achane and three others who he out-gained in 2025. We wrote about similar head-scratching results from an ESPN poll earlier this month.

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III avoids the reaching Broncos player during second half action at Empower FIeld at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Jan. 17, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Obviously, Cook's 1,621 rush yards were the most of any player last season, and, when it comes to total yards from scrimmage, only Bijan Robinson (Falcons), Christian McCaffrey (49ers) and Jonathan Taylor (Colts) gained more than the Bills' bell-cow. While Cook became Buffalo's first rushing champion since the late OJ Simpson in 1976, his rushing total is the third highest in team history.

Furthermore, Cook's 5.2 yards per carry ranked second overall in the NFL behind only Achane's 5.7 mark, but the former rushed 71 more times than the latter. Not to mention, Achane wasn't exactly carrying the ball under tough circumstances with the Dolphins out of contention for much of the season's second half.

Despite noting that Cook finished 2025 "leading the NFL in rushing yards over expected and finishing second among running backs in yards per carry," the SI pundits still placed him behind seven of his counterparts.

Cook's rushing efficiency coupled with his league-high yardage total should be more than enough to earn him a Top 5 spot, but apparently running the ball effectively isn't most important when determining a RUNNING back's overall value.

Cook far from one-year wonder

When realizing Cook's 2025 campaign was no aberration, his low ranking looks even stranger.

It was the third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season for the 2022 second-round draft pick, who earned a third straight Pro Bowl nod. In 2024, Cook totaled 18 regular season touchdowns despite playing fewer than 50 percent of the offense's total snaps.

Cook has rushed for 3,752 yards over the past three seasons — fifth most by a NFL player over that span. He's played under 55 percent of possible snaps while amassing such an impressive rushing total.

Bills, others presumably disagree with rankings

We wrote about Cook being viewed as the team's most underrated player during this past offseason.

It was almost one year ago when Hall-of-Fame running back Thurman Thomas gave Cook the ultimate compliment.

When the Bills' starting running back showed up at June minicamp after working from home during voluntary OTAs, first-year head coach Joe Brady hinted at how valued Cook is by the offense.

"Jimbo has a great work ethic and a great approach. It was really good to be around him yesterday. I'm excited for him to get out there. I know he's excited to be with the guys again," said Brady.

We wrote about the running back's outlook for 2026 back when he addressed reporters in June.

SI's 10 Best NFL Running Backs for 2026

10 (t) Breece Hall, Jets

10 (t) Kyren Williams, Rams

9 Kenneth Walker, Chiefs

8 James Cook, Bills

7 De'Von Achane, Dolphins

6 Saquon Barkley, Eagles

5 Derrick Henry, Ravens

4 Jonathan Taylor, Colts

3 Christian McCaffrey, 49ers

2 Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions

1 Bijan Robinson, Falcons

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