Who is James Cook III’s handcuff?

If James Cook III misses time

Buffalo's undated live team chart orders James Cook III, Ray Davis and Ty Johnson, but Ourlads' chart explicitly updated September 8 at 6:45 p.m. ET orders Cook, Johnson and Davis. This makes the nominal RB2 disputed. A September 6 RotoBaller fantasy projection says Davis would step into the lead-back role if Cook missed time, while September 11 reporting says Johnson is questionable after only a limited Friday return, his first practice since August 8. Davis remains the conditional pick for Cook's rushing workload and matches the deterministic model, but Johnson could retain passing-down work or outrank him if active.

Ray Davis is the conditional Cook handcuff for rushing volume, but this is not a settled depth-chart call. A dated chart places Ty Johnson second, and Johnson remains questionable after a limited Friday return.

Compact, physical back who slipped behind Ty Johnson on the 2026 chart but is still the likelier man to take the RB1 role if Cook missed time — he can handle early downs, short yardage and pass protection, where Johnson is a specialist.

• availability_unverified
• stale_availability
• conflicting depth charts
• Ty Johnson questionable
• committee likely
• conditional projection