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James Cook III or Saquon Barkley?

James Cook III or Saquon Barkley? Both are RBs. Their 2026 through Week 9 figures are below, as of Nov 12, 2026; here is what each man's 2025 season was built on.

Saquon Barkley leads on share of his team's offensive snaps — the inputs that have historically carried from one season to the next.

Figures are verified play-by-play (nflverse); scored Half-PPR. Repeatability is measured from year-over-year persistence across 2016 to 2025, not projected. Muffed publishes no projections, draft grades or start/sit advice.

Who led the NFL in rushing yards over expected in 2026?

James Cook III

RB · Buffalo Bills

Saquon Barkley

RB · Philadelphia Eagles

James Cook III vs Saquon Barkley, 2026 through Week 9

Figures as of Nov 12, 2026

Verified 2026 through Week 9 figures for James Cook III and Saquon Barkley, with each figure's rank in its source population
Metric	James Cook III	Saquon Barkley
Finish	5	—
Half-PPR/G	17.8	7.9
RYOE	104.28th of 42	47.614th of 42
RYOE/att	0.788th of 42	0.7010th of 42
Carries	138	69
Rec EPA	3.113th of 43	—

A dash means the panel holds no qualifying figure for that player — usually too few games or attempts to clear the metric's floor, not a zero. Ranks are the source's own, against the population shown, and run through the same week as the figures. Not shown, because the panel holds no 2026 through Week 9 figure for either player: Games, Snap share, Availability.

Last season (2025): what repeats

Read off the full 2025 season, not the 2026 through Week 9 table above — part of a season is too little for a persistence read.

James Cook III: MIXEDSaquon Barkley: REPEATABLE

James Cook III leads on rushing attempts, and also on rushing yards over expected, rushing yards over expected per attempt and receiving expected points added — one side of that is opportunity, the other is efficiency, and they have not historically travelled together. Saquon Barkley leads on share of his team's offensive snaps — the inputs that have historically carried from one season to the next. Of the two, Saquon Barkley's season rests on the steadier ground. That is a statement about what each man's production was built on, not a running order — and it is a description of 2025, not a forecast of 2026.

“Repeats” is measured year-over-year persistence across 2016 to 2025 — opportunity carries between seasons, scoring rate largely does not. This describes what a 2025 season was built on. It is not a forecast, and Muffed publishes no projections, draft grades or start/sit advice. How we measure it.

Settle it — hear both stories

The same verified data, told as the story of each man's season.

James Cook III's episode →Saquon Barkley's episode →

Buffalo Bills backfield depth Philadelphia Eagles backfield depth What is the usage gap?What is Half-PPR?What is RYOE?What is EPA?All comparisons

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Cite this

Muffed, “James Cook III vs Saquon Barkley, 2026 through Week 9 verified comparison,” muffed.ai/compare/james-cook-vs-saquon-barkley. Through Week 9 of the 2026 season. Data via nflverse; NFL Next Gen Stats via nflverse.

Free to quote and link with credit. The underlying figures are recomputed from public play-by-play — see how we verify every number.

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