The Buffalo Bills know how invaluable reigning NFL rushing champion James Cook is to their offense.

"He wants the ball, and I've said it for a very long time, the more times we get James Cook the ball, the better that we are on offense," said quarterback Josh Allen.

But at some point, rookie head coach Joe Brady has to find ways to be less reliant on him.

There's no denying that Cook should want to be fed; most running backs would tell you the same thing, especially one of the NFL's elites.

Could it come back to bite Brady as he charges through the remainder of the Bills' schedule into January?

Most certainly.

Dominanting Bills' RB touches

According to FantasyPros, Cook accounts for 51 percent of the touches out of the RB backfield. That comes after a 2025 season where the Georgia product garnered 342 touches, as compared to 74 for Johnson and 68 for Davis.

What's been interesting in seeing this trend from Brady is how much things have changed since his first full season as offensive coordinator in 2024. That year, Cook netted 239 touches, Davis posted 130, and Johnson added 59.

Of course, Cook has ascended to elite RB territory. He has also gotten paid in that span, which could play a part in his increase in usage. But over-usage has shown to be an area that can slow star backs down over time.

Too much tread on tires

From Saquon Barkley to Jonathan Taylor, veteran backs in recent years have shown that extended touches can lead to precipitous dropoffs.

Barkley posted a historic 2024 campaign that featured 378 touches. That number dropped to 317 in 2025, with over 800 less scrimmage yards, sliding his yards per touch d from 6.0 to 4.5. That YPT figure is in the same range in 2026 at 4.4.

Like Barkley, Taylor's numbers have trailed off after the second-highest touch total (369) of his career in 2025. His YPT has dropped from 5.3 to 4.7 this season.

Barkley (29) is older than both Taylor and Cook, who are in their age-27 seasons. But Taylor's step back from his strong 2025 should concern the Bills, as Cook is on pace to post 385 touches this year.

Brady is smart to feature one of the NFL's best backs. But if he is not more mindful in managing him down the stretch, it could set Buffalo up for failure.

James Cook has reached 800 rushing yards ✅

Season Stats:
169 Car | 814 Rush Yds | 8 Rush TD

Season Pace:
359 Car | 1,730 Rush Yds | 17 Rush TD#BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/KT0keDXcMk

— PaceBall (@paceball__) November 10, 2026