Ke’Shawn Vaughn, RB, Buccaneers
Player Profile
Vaughn didn’t wow many people at the combine. His forty time was average but he was bottom-five at the position in both broad-jump and vertical-jump, both measurements show a prospect’s burst. He also didn’t stand out in positional drills. Vaughn is a solid running back prospect that has some finishing speed and agility in tight spaces.
Fantasy Outlook
Vaughn landed in one of the best spots a running back could in this draft. The Buccaneers should have a high-powered offense and they don’t have quality running back depth ahead of him. I have Vaughn as a mid/low first-round pick in rookie drafts and I think he is in the three-five round range in redraft at the moment. That could go up or down depending on what we hear from camp and the preseason.
Effect On New Team
This obviously hurts Ronald Jones as it seems he is back into a committee. This is a battle to keep an eye for sure because of how much Tom Brady likes to check down and how high scoring this offense should be. This is a pick aimed at giving Brady another option out of the backfield in the passing game. This shouldn’t affect the receivers or tight ends much.
- Kevin Taylor
Zach Moss, RB, Bills
Player Profile
Zach Moss is a physical tackle-breaker at 5’9” and 223 pounds and has enough skills in the passing game to be more than a one dimensional back. Moss finished out his senior year at Utah with his best season to date, rushing for 1,416 yards on 235 carries while catching 28 passes for 388 yards. Moss missed three games with injury in 2016 and another five in 2018 due to a meniscus injury, and has a full four years of wear and tear at the college level. Moss allegedly tweaked his hamstring during his vertical jump, yet continued on to run his 40-yard dash, participate in the shuttle run, and complete all the running back drills. The results were very unimpressive, with a 40 time (4.65) that ranked as the fifth-worst of all running backs at the combine.
Fantasy Outlook
It is hard to work up much excitement here for fantasy purposes. Devin Singletary is a fellow third-round pick that is under contract through 2022 and has already shown flashes in the pros while displaying solid pass-catching chops. Josh Allen remains as one of the leagues biggest touchdown vultures, a role that Moss could have filled on another offense. Moss could be a nice one-two punch with Singletary for sure, but without a guaranteed touchdown role and profiling as the second running back in the pecking order, Moss is a fairly low upside pick in both redraft and dynasty.
Effect on New Team
This is worrisome news for Singletary, considering he had just shed the weight of Frank Gore behind him on the roster, only to have Gore replaced with a younger option. Combined with Allen’s vulture abilities around the endzone, and Singletary looks much less likely to break out in 2020. The Bills are now pretty loaded on offense, yet ultimately dependent on Allen making a leap. This is probably a decent move for real life, but for fantasy purposes, this backfield is a bit of a headache.
-Erik Smith
Darrynton Evans, RB, Titans
Player Profile
At 5’10” and 203 pounds with a 4.41 40-yard dash, Evans shows some intriguing traits coming out of Appalachian State, and as a third-round pick, we should keep an eye on him. Evans can contribute on special teams and as a receiver, which should help him get on the field as a rookie, but he is probably too small to get a look as an every-down player early in his career.
Fantasy Outlook
Trapped behind Derrick Henry, Evans will struggle to make a year one impact. He could provide more of a spark as a change of pace option than Dion Lewis was able to, and Henry has yet to sign long-term, so in a dynasty league, Evans could be worth gambling on in case he suddenly finds himself in a wide-open backfield. However, unless the Titans drastically change their offensive approach to incorporate a pass-catching secondary running back, Evans is limited to handcuff and dynasty appeal.
Effect on New Team
Evans slots into the role recently vacated by Lewis, so there isn’t much of a change here. Maybe Evans is a potential fallback option if the Titans can’t work a deal past this year with Henry, but otherwise, it is business as usual in Tennessee.
-Erik Smith