Former Vanderbilt Star Ke'Shawn Vaughn Poised For Fantasy Success

Fantasy football leagues area big thing across the country with thousands of fans participating in a plethora of leagues with friends or co-workers for fun and some for money.

Fantasy aficionados spend hours combing through stats just like NFL general managers to build their boards for fantasy drafts. It's not just about selecting Tom Brady because it's Tom Brady. He has to be a stat producing machine under the scoring system of a particular league.

This week Sports Illustrated's Mark Morales Smith looked into former Vanderbilt standout Ke'Shawn Vaughn. The latter ironically is now a teammate of the Brady, as mentioned earlier in Tampa Bay, and what impact the past Commodore might have for fantasy players.

"I liked but didn’t love Vaughn entering this draft; however, this is an ideal situation for him. The Bucs have improved their offensive line, and the talent in the passing attack is unrivaled. The team has, of course, added quarterback Tom Brady to pair with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and now Rob Gronkowski. With talent like that, it's going to be tough for defenses to pay a ton of attention to the running backs."

Lead duties at running back were set to fall on Ronald Jones with Dare Ogunbowale handling third-down situations. Vaughn's arrival throws a wrench in those plans.

"Jones isn’t locked into the starting job. He hasn’t been good enough to earn that privilege. He was barely good enough at anything to step on the field as a rookie and struggled to unseat Barber last year. In 2019, Jones upped his 1.9 yards per carry to 4.2 and scored six touchdowns to go with his 724 rushing yards. He also added 31 receptions for 309 yards. While the numbers are better, vision and blocking continue to be an issue, and the coaches have shown they don’t trust him. They used him because what were the options?"

"There is now a new option and quite frankly a better option. I expect Vaughn to take on the short-yardage and passing-down duties immediately. He is a punishing runner who will punch defenders in the face over and over. Not only is a better pass-catching option, but he's also a much better blocker, which is brutal for Jones considering Vaughn is a rookie. By this time next year, we will be talking about Vaughn being the clear-cut starter over Jones heading into the 2021 season."

In conclusion, Morales-Smith had this to say of Vaughn's value to fantasy teams.

"Nonetheless, he isn’t great at making that space on his own. His acceleration is average at best, and his agility is lacking. He’s a one move and smash running back and isn't great rushing outside and turning the corner. While he can break tackles, he doesn’t make a lot of people miss. Don’t expect many 20-plus yards runs, but you can anticipate a guy that can handle a lot of touches and will fall forward for extra yards almost every time you put the ball in his hand. Plus, he could add plenty of PPR value. Catches and touchdowns aren’t a bad combination to have in a fantasy back."

There you go, Commodores fans and fantasy football players, and good luck this season.

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven