2-Time Pro Bowler Named Bills' Top Post-Draft Trade Candidate

The Buffalo Bills parted ways with several quality players last offseason and still found their way to the AFC championship game. 

A big part of the team's success was running back James Cook, who produced his second consecutive season of 1,000-plus rushing yards and led the NFL with 16 touchdowns on the ground. 

However, despite his contributions, Cook profiles as a potential trade candidate for the Bills ahead of the 2025 campaign. The 25-year-old is entering the final year of his $6 million rookie contract and has been an enormous bargain to this point.

But the former second-round pick has a projected market value of nearly $41 million over a new four-year contract, which would change the math significantly on his productivity ratio when measuring his statistical output against the percentage of the salary cap he represents. 

Buffalo focused on getting less expensive at the skill positions last offseason and paying a running back eight figures annually is antithetical to that financial initiative. If the Bills don't plan on keeping Cook beyond 2025, or are concerned they may not be able to pay him, trading him now for a meaningful draft asset could prove the most economical play. 

For all of those reasons, Sterling Xie of Pro Football Network on Sunday, April 20, dubbed Cook the franchise's most likely post-draft trade candidate. 

"[Bills GM] Brandon Beane has traditionally leaned on the draft to restock at running back. Beane drafted Devin Singletary to replace LeSean McCoy, and then drafted James Cook to replace Singletary. Now, with Cook entering the last year of his rookie contract, the Bills could be poised to repeat that cycle again," Xie wrote. "In fact, it’s possible they’ve already done so after drafting Ray Davis in the fourth round last year. In the lone game that Cook missed in 2024, Davis piled up 152 scrimmage yards."

Xie named the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys as the top three potential trade partners for Cook based on their rosters ahead of the NFL draft.