Who Should I Start? Israel Abanikanda or Deuce Vaughn

Monday, September 9, 7:44 PM

New York Jets running back Israel Abanikanda is a healthy scratch for the team's Week 1 regular-season opener at Levi's Stadium on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Abanikanda enters the 2024 season as the team's RB4 behind starter and bell-cow Breece Hall and rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis. As such, the 21-year-old is obviously off the fantasy radar in most single-year leagues for the time being unless injuries push him into a relevant game-day role. The former fifth-round pick out of Pittsburgh last year was also buried on the depth chart in his rookie season and finished with 22 carries for 70 yards while catching seven passes for 43 yards in only six games. Abanikanda has breakaway speed but is once again buried on the depth chart and will have to wait for his opportunity beyond Week 1.

Wednesday, August 13, 7:06 PM

With Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Jaydon Blue (heel) still sidelined from Tuesday's training camp practice, it allowed Deuce Vaughn to work with the first-team offense, according to Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News. Vaughn had a good day by showing lateral movements to make defenders miss in space. The 23-year-old is slippery in space because of his quickness and size (5-foot-6, 176 pounds), but Vaughn is still fighting an uphill battle to be involved out of Dallas' backfield in 2025. The former sixth-round pick (212th overall) in 2023 out of Kansas State has a combined 40 rushing attempts for 110 yards and no touchdowns while adding 10 receptions for 58 yards in the passing game in his two seasons in the NFL with the Cowboys. At best, he'll open his third season as the RB4 behind Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders and Blue.