UPDATE: Fournette is only an emergency option, per Jay Glazer. Move Vaughn back up and downgrade Fournette.
Game status: Leonard Fournette is ACTIVE in a surprise after he was listed as doubtful. Downgrade Ke’Shawn Vaughn, but be wary of including Fournette in your lineups.
You never like to see players get injured, but a couple of balky ankles have created a bit of clarity in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ backfield. Ronald Jones took on 26 touches in Week 4 with Leonard Fournette inactive and LeSean McCoy forced out of action due to their respective ankle injuries. Those injuries also presented Ke’Shawn Vaughn with an opportunity to show what he can do. The third-round rookie played the first 19 snaps of his career. He touched the ball five times against the Chargers, one of which resulted in a receiving score.
Fantasy Football analysis: Bucs RBs Ronald Jones, Ke’Shawn Vaughn
Not only did the Bucs make Jones their lead back as a result of those injuries, his nine targets were also a team-high. He didn’t do much with them — six catches, 17 yards — and he dropped multiple targets, but that usage is encouraging. Vaughn isn’t ready for primetime, but the Bucs seem at least willing to use him in passing situations. Since Jones played only 20% of the third-down snaps in Week 4, we shouldn’t expect that he will continue to see such a high number of targets. This week’s game against the Chicago Bears offers an above-average matchup; Chicago has allowed 5.3 yards per carry combined to lead RBs such as Adrian Peterson, Todd Gurley and Jonathan Taylor.
Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation
Jones is unlikely to see so much work as a receiver again, but another 20-carry game isn’t off the table here. He’s a mid-range RB2 because of that workload. Vaughn is a DFS punt play at $4,000. Somewhere between 7-10 touches is probably all you can ask for from him.