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Jonathan Taylor or James Cook III?

Jonathan Taylor or James Cook III? Both are RBs. Their 2026 through Week 8 figures are below, as of Oct 30, 2026; here is what each man's 2025 season was built on.

James Cook III's edge sits in rushing yards over expected and rushing yards over expected per attempt — efficiency rather than opportunity, and the file measures that as the less repeatable half.

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?

Jonathan Taylor

RB · Indianapolis Colts

James Cook III

RB · Buffalo Bills

Jonathan Taylor vs James Cook III, 2026 through Week 8

Figures as of Oct 30, 2026

Verified 2026 through Week 8 figures for Jonathan Taylor and James Cook III, with each figure's rank in its source population
Metric	Jonathan Taylor	James Cook III
Half-PPR/G	18.4	18.1
RYOE	-0.521st of 39	105.64th of 39
RYOE/att	-0.0021st of 39	0.936th of 39
Carries	140	117
Rec EPA	-0.526th of 43	3.110th 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 8 figure for either player: Finish, Games, Snap share, Availability.

Last season (2025): what repeats

Read off the full 2025 season, not the 2026 through Week 8 table above — part of a season is too little for a persistence read.

Jonathan Taylor: MIXEDJames Cook III: VOLATILE

Jonathan Taylor leads on share of his team's offensive snaps and rushing attempts, and also on receiving expected points added — one side of that is opportunity, the other is efficiency, and they have not historically travelled together. James Cook III's edge sits in rushing yards over expected and rushing yards over expected per attempt — efficiency rather than opportunity, and the file measures that as the less repeatable half. Of the two, Jonathan Taylor'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.

Jonathan Taylor's episode →James Cook III's episode →

Indianapolis Colts backfield depth Buffalo Bills backfield depth What is Half-PPR?What is RYOE?What is EPA?All comparisons

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Cite this

Muffed, “Jonathan Taylor vs James Cook III, 2026 through Week 8 verified comparison,” muffed.ai/compare/jonathan-taylor-vs-james-cook. Through Week 8 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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