Ty Johnson is the modern day Fred Jackson

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

I’m gonna go out on a HUGE limb here and probably get some negative reactions/comments, but I really don’t care. We don’t NEED James Cook. Why? Because Ty Johnson is the modern day Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills. 
 

2024 Season

TJ = 59 touches, 8.4 yards a touch. 

Cook = 239 touches with a 5.6 yard average. 

Cook has 1267 scrimmage yards which is very respectable. Now give TJ the same amount of touches as Cook and it projects to 2007.6 scrimmage yards. 
 

TJ is a significantly better receiver. He had 1/5 the amount of pass targets as Cook and still has a higher yard & TD total. 
 

TJ also has a higher YPC at 5.2 and Cook at a 4.9, but I will still give the slight edge to Cook as he had a much bigger workload. Johnson has 20 lbs on Cook and I think would give Buffalo the edge in the red zone. 

 

As far as run blocking, it is obvious that TJ is superior. Our own Josh Allen said he was the best 3rd down back in the NFL. Probably because of his elite outlet receiver skills and ability to pick up rushers. I’ve never seen him whiff on one block. There’s a reason he was the least sacked QB last year and TJ played a big role in that. 
 

The last point I’ll make it Ty Johnson is still relatively young at 27 and with very little wear & tear. Buffalo could easily get 3-4 more seasons out of him. 
 

We saw the same arguments with Fred Jackson that his pedigree wasn’t good enough, that he is too old, that the guy starting ahead of him was simply better. Fans who had a keen eye for talent knew that Jackson was the real deal. Why? Because every time he had the ball, he was a monster. The numbers didn’t lie either as I remember him averaging well over 5 ypc. Still the dumb ass coaching staff drafted CJ Spiller when they already had a star on the roster. 

 

This thread isn’t about putting down Cook who is an excellent back. It’s more about money vs production. I think we could get much more value rolling with Ty Johnson/Ray Davis vs James Cook @ 15 million a year. The drop off in rushing yards would be very minimal if there even is a drop off? RB involvement in the pass game would increase drastically as Ray Davis is a very good receiver in his own right. It just seems like every time Ty Johnson touched the ball, it was a first down. I would roll the dice and try to trade Cook possibly a player for player. The Bills don’t need this type of distraction while they have championship aspirations. Hopefully the FO has learned from the whole Diggs debacle and nips this thing ASAP. 

 

Edited Saturday at 02:48 PM by ChronicAndKnuckles

[wppete]

Ty Johnson was an amazing find by Beane. We really lucked out. Too bad Beane cant make these type of finds in the first 3 Rounds of the draft. 

[Mr. WEO]

16 minutes ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I’m gonna go out on a HUGE limb here and probably get some negative reactions/comments, but I really don’t care. We don’t NEED James Cook. Why? Because Ty Johnson is the modern day Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills. 
 

2024 Season

TJ = 59 touches, 8.4 yards a touch. 

Cook = 239 touches with a 5.6 yard average. 

Cook has 1267 scrimmage yards which is very respectable. Now give TJ the same amount of touches as Cook and it projects to 2007.6 scrimmage yards. 

 

 

This is a fallacy that does not make your argument more convincing.  About 50 guys in NFL history have over 2000 yards from scrimmage (only 6 in the last 5 years (aided by 17th game).  TJ will never be one of them.  Davis had an anemic 4.9 yards per touch.

 

I don't think they should pay Cook 15 million, but aging vet TJ has never been the guy you are wishing for.  

[Einstein]

I actually think thats a fair comparison.

Loved Fred.

[clearwater cadet]

Don't get me wrong I love Ty, but Freddy was a special player on a lousy franchise / team for years.  I forget the year but that opening day run he had against the bears to win the game, still goes down in my book as one of the best plays in Bills history, and I've been watching for 45 years. 

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Oh, Fred, thee hath stolen my heart…

[transient]

Fred was a feature back. Cook is a feature back. I like what Ty brings, but I think his stats represent change of pace numbers that wouldn't translate if he was an every down player.

[HomeskillitMoorman]

4 minutes ago, transient said:

Fred was a feature back. Cook is a feature back. I like what Ty brings, but I think his stats represent change of pace numbers that wouldn't translate if he was an every down player.

 

I agree, I like Ty a lot but Freddie Action was on another level

[RunTheBall]

Uh, no. I love Ty in his role, but he’s not close to Freddie

 

 

[NoName]

On 3/22/2025 at 10:56 AM, wppete said:

Ty Johnson was an amazing find by Beane. We really lucked out. Too bad Beane cant make these type of finds in the first 3 Rounds of the draft. 

I think Singletary deserves more credit than that.  Moss went on to have some success once he left as well.  I think Ty is best 3rd down back in the league…but Singletary was solid as a 3rd rounder.

Edited 9 hours ago by NoName

[Ramza86]

Ty was my must resign offensive player. He just made way too many plays for him not be on this roster. 

[QCity]

Love TJ and that was a great re-signing but no. Just no.

[UConn James]

17 minutes ago, Ramza86 said:

Ty was my must resign offensive player. He just made way too many plays for him not be on this roster. 

I dunno about Ty being an every down back, but in his role, he’s great. 

 

Not just made many plays. Made many CLUTCH plays.

[gonzo1105]

Fred was a feature back and Ty Johnson wasn’t. Fred Jackson played on god awful teams , Ty Johnson hasn’t. Fred Jackson was a hell of a receiving back I don’t care what the stars depicted but Jackson did more with less. 
 

Johnson is good in his role but I just don’t see it in his 28/29 year old season if Cook moves on. If people legit thought this around the league he wouldn’t have been back for 2.5 a year 

Edited Saturday at 05:27 PM by gonzo1105

[uticaclub]

Fred was an everydown back

[Big Turk]

Ty Johnson is a straight baller...every time he touches the ball something good happens.

 

And he has the best sliding catch game of any PLAYER in the NFL period which is pretty damn impressive for a running back, not even a receiver.

 

Some of those catches he has made are almost not believable.

[HamptonBillsfan]

2 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I’m gonna go out on a HUGE limb here and probably get some negative reactions/comments, but I really don’t care. We don’t NEED James Cook. Why? Because Ty Johnson is the modern day Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills. 
 

2024 Season

TJ = 59 touches, 8.4 yards a touch. 

Cook = 239 touches with a 5.6 yard average. 

Cook has 1267 scrimmage yards which is very respectable. Now give TJ the same amount of touches as Cook and it projects to 2007.6 scrimmage yards. 
 

TJ is a significantly better receiver. He had 1/5 the amount of pass targets as Cook and still has a higher yard & TD total. 
 

TJ also has a higher YPC at 5.2 and Cook at a 4.9, but I will still give the slight edge to Cook as he had a much bigger workload. Johnson has 20 lbs on Cook and I think would give Buffalo the edge in the red zone. 

 

As far as run blocking, it is obvious that TJ is superior. Our own Josh Allen said he was the best 3rd down back in the NFL. Probably because of his elite outlet receiver skills and ability to pick up rushers. I’ve never seen him whiff on one block. There’s a reason he was the least sacked QB last year and TJ played a big role in that. 
 

The last point I’ll make it Ty Johnson is still relatively young at 27 and with very little wear & tear. Buffalo could easily get 3-4 more seasons out of him. 
 

We saw the same arguments with Fred Jackson that his pedigree wasn’t good enough, that he is too old, that the guy starting ahead of him was simply better. Fans who had a keen eye for talent knew that Jackson was the real deal. Why? Because every time he had the ball, he was a monster. The numbers didn’t lie either as I remember him averaging well over 5 ypc. Still the dumb ass coaching staff drafted CJ Spiller when they already had a star on the roster. 

 

This thread isn’t about putting down Cook who is an excellent back. It’s more about money vs production. I think we could get much more value rolling with Ty Johnson/Ray Davis vs James Cook @ 15 million a year. The drop off in rushing yards would be very minimal if there even is a drop off? RB involvement in the pass game would increase drastically as Ray Davis is a very good receiver in his own right. It just seems like every time Ty Johnson touched the ball, it was a first down. I would roll the dice and try to trade Cook possibly a player for player. The Bills don’t need this type of distraction while they have championship aspirations. Hopefully the FO has learned from the whole Diggs debacle and nips this thing ASAP. 

 

The only thing you’re missing is. TJ has never been a featured back. He’s been an overachieving special teams guy and a 3rd down back. Minimal carries and receptions have kept him healthy and productive. He’s a change of pace back not a bell cow. He’s awesome at how we’ve deployed him but to shoehorn him into a run heavy offense is a crapshoot. Let’s see what Cook does in his walk year or offer him  40 for 3 years. With a nice signing bonus he won’t even hurt the cap that much. Remember Cook is only getting better and he probably will have more workload now with Brady being in his second year and knowing how talented he is.

[NC-billsfan!]

I think Freddie would be a perfect role model for TJ. I agree that they are both similar backs. I don’t want to hear he’s not a featured back. How the heck does anyone know that. Freddie wasn’t considered a featured back. He bounced around a bunch of leagues before he caught on. All I know is every time TJ touches the ball he’s an animal. And I’m not sure when the last time we had a RB that could catch like him? Thurman?

[Goin Breakdown]

Fred Jackson is still my fav all time Bill and I've been a Bills fan for 35 years give or take 

[Mr. WEO]

guy with 3 touches a game is now Fred Jackson...lol.

 

Fred had 5 seasons over 200 touches, 3 over 250.  TJ has had 390 touches in his entire 6 year career...