James Dalvin Cook III (born September 25, 1999) is an American professional footballrunning back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Bills in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. As a member of the Bills, he has been a vital part of their revamped run game, becoming the team's first running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season since 2017, as well as scoring 16 rushing touchdowns in a single season (tying a franchise record set in 1975) and earning two Pro Bowl nominations.
Cook is the younger brother of former NFL running back Dalvin Cook.[1]
Early life
Cook grew up in Miami, Florida, and attended Miami Central Senior High School.[2][3] He rushed for 709 yards and eight touchdowns on 99 carries as a freshman.[4] After his freshman year, Cook took extra courses and reclassified from a sophomore to a junior.[5] As a senior, he rushed for 782 yards and 10 touchdowns on 91 carries. Cook rushed for 2,019 yards and 30 touchdowns during his high school career.[6]
Cook was a highly rated recruit and initially committed to play college football at Florida State, where his brother was playing, after his freshman year of high school.[7] However, he later decommitted during the summer before his senior year.[8] Cook later signed a letter of intent to play at Georgia after considering offers from Louisville and Florida.[9] Cook transferred to Miami Northwestern Senior High School after his senior football season for his final semester of high school.[10] Cook finished high school as a 4 star recruit.[8]
College career
Cook with the Georgia Bulldogs in 2021
Cook played in 13 games as a freshman and gained 284 yards and scored two touchdowns on 41 carries with eight receptions for 89 yards.[11] He played in all 14 of Georgia's games and rushed 31 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns while also catching 16 passes for 132 yards in his sophomore season.[12] In 2020, Cook was the team's second-leading rusher with 303 yards and three touchdowns on 45 carries and caught 16 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns.[13] Cook missed the 2021 Peach Bowl following the death of his father.[14]
Cook rushed for 728 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 27 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns as a senior as the Bulldogs won the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship.[15] He was the leading receiver for Georgia with 112 yards and one touchdown on four receptions in the team's 34–11 win over Michigan in the Orange Bowl semifinal game.[16] After the end of the season, Cook declared that he would be entering the 2022 NFL draft.[17]
Cook was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round, 63rd overall, in the 2022 NFL draft.[21] In Week 1, Cook made his NFL debut against the Los Angeles Rams. On his first career carry, Cook fumbled after a 2-yard gain. He did not receive another offensive touch for the remainder of the game.[22] In Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cook scored his first professional touchdown on a 24-yard rush in the 38–3 victory.[23] In Week 13 against the New England Patriots, he had 105 scrimmage yards in the 24–10 victory.[24] In his rookie season, Cook appeared in 16 games and finished with 89 carries for 507 yards and two rushing touchdowns, to go along with 21 receptions for 180 yards and one receiving touchdown.[25] Cook scored a rushing touchdown in the 34–31 Wild Card Round victory over the Miami Dolphins.[26]
2023 season
Cook became Buffalo's primary running back for the 2023 season with previous starter Devin Singletary departing for the Houston Texans in free agency,[27] though goal-line and pass protection snaps went to newly-signed veteran Latavius Murray. Against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15, Cook attained career highs in several single-game categories, including rush attempts (25), rush yards (179), total scrimmage yards (221), and total touchdowns (2), as the Bills routed Dallas 31–10.[28] He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance.[29] The following week against the Los Angeles Chargers, Cook surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season, becoming the first Bills running back to do so since LeSean McCoy (2017).[30] He finished the 2023 season with 237 carries for 1,122 yards and two rushing touchdowns, to go with 44 receptions for 445 yards and four receiving touchdowns, in 17 games and 13 starts. Cook had eight games on the season with at least 100 scrimmage yards,[31] and earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time.[32]
2024 season
In Week 2 of the 2024 season, Cook had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in the 31–10 victory over the Dolphins, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week.[33][34] In Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks, he had 133 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 31–10 victory.[35] In Week 15 against the Detroit Lions, he had 133 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 48–42 win.[36] In Week 16 against the Patriots, he had 126 scrimmage yards, one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown in the 24–21 win.[37] For the season, Cook rushed for sixteen touchdowns, which tied a franchise record set by O.J. Simpson (1975) for most rushing touchdowns in a single season.[38] He also tied with Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs (each with 16) as the 2024 NFL rushing touchdowns leader,[39] and earned Pro Bowl honors for the second time.[40] In the Wild Card Round against the Denver Broncos, he had 23 carries for 120 yards and a rushing touchdown in the 31–7 win.[41] In the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had 134 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 29–32 loss.[42] Cook was ranked 89th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025.[43]
2025 season
On August 13, 2025, after a short holdout from practice, Cook and the Bills reached agreement on a four-year, $48 million contract extension.[44][45] For the first four weeks of the season, Cook had 100+ total yards and made a rushing touchdown in each game, all of which resulted in wins for the team. For his efforts in these first four games, Cook earned AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors.[46]
Cook was arrested by Athens police in December 2019 for driving with an open alcohol container and driving without a valid license.[47]
In July 2020, Cook crashed into five unoccupied parked cars near downtown Athens. Moments before, according to police, Cook was traveling up to 85mph, nearly striking an oncoming vehicle. Athens-Clark County deputy solicitor Janna Landreth offered to drop additional charges in the case if Cook pleaded guilty to reckless driving, for which Cook would have to pay a $670 fine, supply financial restitution to at-most two of the five damaged vehicles, and complete a defensive-driving course. Cook subsequently failed to appear in court relating to this case, for which Georgia Bulldogs football Director of Player Support Bryant Gantt claimed responsibility. Cook was not penalized for the missed date.[48]
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