2025 Fantasy Football RB Rankings: Should You Draft Breece Hall Or James Cook?

New York Jets running back Breece Hall and Buffalo Bills running back James Cook are two of the more polarizing running backs in fantasy football this season. There are a lot of reasons to like both, but there are also reasons to be cautious. They are currently being drafted as the RB13 and RB14 according to their ADP.

Which one of these backs should you select if they are both on the board when you are on the clock? Let's dive in!

RB James Cook, Buffalo Bills

ADP RB13 Overall 30

The Case For Cook

Cook is coming off a huge year in which he rushed for over 1,000 yards, caught 32 passes for 258 yards, and scored a total of 18 touchdowns. He plays in the same backfield as the reigning NFL MVP, Josh Allen, and is in one of the top offenses in the NFL. There is a lot to like about Cook and plenty of reasons to believe he can have another great season in 2025. At just 25 years old, he's coming off a season in which he saw 245 opportunities. You have the clear starting back in an offense that is going to be scoring a ton of points this season.

James Cook pic.twitter.com/TUcqIbxOnA
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) July 22, 2025

The Case Against Cook

While his 245 opportunities are a nice number, he did see Ray Davis cut into his touches. In 2023, Cook saw 291 opportunities. However, Davis saw 113 carries and 19 targets last season, which is a trend many believe will continue in 2025.

Cook's TD numbers from last season may also be unsustainable. He ran for 16 TDs last season, while his previous career high was two. It is fair to be skeptical about whether last year was an aberration. If he loses both touches and his TD total drops significantly, he could disappoint this season.

RB Breece Hall, New York Jets

ADP: RB14 Overall 31

The Case For Hall

Hall was an outstanding prospect who looked great as a rookie before tearing his ACL. The hope is that he is now fully healthy, and the Jets' offensive line can at the very least not be one of the worst in the league. He has also proven himself as a reliable pass-catcher, catching 152 of 202 targets for 1,292 yards and eight TDs in 40 career games. Despite playing in a terrible offense for the entirety of his career, he has also still managed to average a solid 4.5 yards per carry. We have seen the talent with Hall, and we are hoping he can bring that back out in 2025.

Aaron Glenn on some of the ways the #Jets plan to utilize RBs Breece Hall & Braelon Allen:

"I told Breece today that receiving will be an element of his game that we're gonna try & make sure that we utilize, & Braelon, a 240 lbs man that's always falling forward, that's where… pic.twitter.com/wunXUMeTUE
— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) July 28, 2025

The Case Against Hall

The case against Hall is simple. He's a Jet. They are going to be a terrible offense, with a bad offensive line, and a quarterback in Justin Fields that isn't going to dump off the ball to the running back like the past few QBs in New York have. New head coach Aaron Glenn has also repeatedly told us that he wants to use all three of his running backs.

So Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis could see increased roles this season. If you take away Hall's bell-cow carries, add a quarterback who would rather run than dump the ball off, and combine that with an offense that isn't going to score many points, it gives Hall a much lower floor than you want from a back with this kind of draft price.

James Cook Vs. Breece Hall: The Verdict

Cook is the much safer player in the much better offense. Hall could be great, but he could also be awful. We don't see that low floor with Cook, and the offense he's in gives him just as high of a floor as Hall, even if he may not be quite as talented.

While we expect Cook's TDs to come down this season, at least we know those numbers are possible. The Jets don't score enough to allow Hall to come anywhere close to 18 TDs in a season. Take Cook over Hall every time.