Who Should I Start? Patrick Taylor Jr. or Deuce Vaughn

Saturday, August 16, 8:00 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Patrick Taylor Jr. (shoulder) will miss the rest of the preseason after dislocating his shoulder in Saturday's 22-19 win over the Raiders. The veteran back logged minus-six yards on four carries before exiting, though the entire backfield struggled behind poor blocking. Taylor is competing with Isaac Guerendo and Jordan James for depth behind Christian McCaffrey, but both Guerendo and James are also dealing with injuries. That should bolster Taylor's roster security, especially with his proven special teams value. While not fantasy relevant, he is likely to open the season on the 49ers' 53-man roster.

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.