James Cook goes to the Bills; will play his brother Dalvin's Vikings this season

Lifelong South Floridian Betty Cook, known as Miss Betty, has a new favorite NFL team in yet another cold weather locale.

Make that co-favorite NFL team. Or favorite AFC team.

The grandmother to Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was hoping his younger brother James would be drafted by the family's hometown Miami Dolphins. Instead, James, a running back from national champion Georgia, got the call from the Buffalo Bills in the second round Friday night while in Miami surrounded by his young son, Miss Betty, Dalvin, older brother Deandre Burnett, mother Varondria and a whole lot more family and friends.

"I'm ready to compete for a national championship, I mean, Super Bowl," James said. "I ain't going to lie. During this whole draft process, I fell in love with the Bills. They let me be me."

And who is that?

"A versatile running back who can separate, split out wide, and score touchdowns," he said. "The Bills are getting a touchdown maker."

The Vikings play at Buffalo this season on a date to be released May 12. Yes, Miss Betty will be there. She made that clear last week.

"I'm going to get one of those jerseys that are half Minnesota Vikings and half whichever team James ends up with," she said. "It'll be No. 4, too."

Wearing No. 4 is a family tradition that goes back to when Deandre, 28, wore it in youth football because, he said, "everyone knew growing up that the best player at Risco Park wore No. 4."

Dalvin and James wore it at Miami Central High and in college. Dalvin, who played at Florida State, also was a second-round pick in 2017. He went 41^st overall, while James went 63^rd as the third running back selected this year.

Their father, James Sr., who died in December 2020, loved that number 4. He always wanted Dalvin to switch from 33 to 4. Dalvin will switch to it this year after the NFL loosened its number restrictions. James Jr. might have a harder time getting that number since it already belongs to Bills safety Jaquan Johnson.

James, a 5-11, 190-pounder who ran a 4.42 40-yard dash, averaged 6.5 yards per carry over 50 games at Georgia and is a natural receiver out of the backfield or lined up wide. He said he and Bills leading rusher Devin Singletary will make a "1-2 punch that will shock the world."

The family, of course, has already started looking forward to that Vikings-Bills game this fall.

"[Dalvin] and I talked about it," James Jr. said. "I got to get mic'd up for that one. They got to have us mic'd up that day. It still don't feel real yet. This moment changes your life forever."