Tag: junior fehoko

Cowboys move RB Deuce Vaughn to IR, activate DE Junior Fehoko for Week 18

From @ToddBrock24f7: Vaughn’s regular season is over; he logged just 40 rushing yards total and added 40 receiving. Fehoko could make his season debut Sunday.

A bit of January roster churn is giving one promising Cowboys rookie a last shot at making his regular-season debut while bringing another’s first pro campaign to an early close.

The team is moving running back Deuce Vaughn to injured reserve and activating defensive end Junior Fehoko to that roster spot for Week 18. The move will require Vaughn to sit out for at least four weeks, meaning he wouldn’t be available again for Dallas until the Super Bowl, should the team get that far.

Fehoko was a fourth-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2023 draft. As the Mountain West’s Defensive Player of the Year and among the top five collegiate defenders in the county in tackles for loss, the 6-foot-3-inch Fehoko was predicted to come in and compete immediately for a spot within the Dallas defensive line rotation.

But the San Jose State product was inactive for the first nine games of the season and then moved to IR with a knee injury on Nov. 18.

Vaughn, of course, came into his rookie year with very high hopes resting on his shoulders. The darling of the 2023 draft was a heartwarming sixth-round pick and showed flashes in training camp, but the elusive back has had a tough time making his impressive Kansas State stats translate to the pro game.

He’s carried the ball just 23 times for 40 yards this season and added seven receptions for another 40 yards.

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Vaughn’s move to IR- listed with an ankle injury- raises questions about the team’s depth at running back behind starter Tony Pollard heading into the postseason. Rico Dowdle had been getting the majority of the backup work but had to miss Week 17’s game versus Detroit with an ankle injury. Fullback Hunter Leupke has been used only sparingly as a ballcarrier, and Malik Davis has yet to see a rushing attempt this season.

The Vaughn development could mean that Dowdle is ready to return to action. But other observers have already wondered if the move is somehow a sign that the team will pursue Dalvin Cook, the four-time Pro Bowler just released by the Jets, to provide experience and depth for the coming playoff run.

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Titans had formal meeting with San Jose State DL Junior Fehoko

The Titans reportedly had a formal meeting with San Jose State DL Junior Fehoko.

The Tennessee Titans are doing their homework on defensive linemen ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, with San Jose State defensive lineman Junior Fehoko being among them.

According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, the Titans had a formal meeting with Fehoko, who has also met with the New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.

For more on the 6-foot-4, 276-pound D-lineman, we turn to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com.

Fehoko’s body type will require teams to decide whether they want him to play base end in a 4-3 defense or ask him to add weight so they can use him as a hybrid end/tackle in a 3-4. He plays with a nose for the football and a chippy attitude. He’s been productive in both phases over the last two seasons, but we will see if that translates against better competition. While he’s not as anchor-based as teams might like due to his lack of leverage, he has a nasty spin counter that could be effective as a sub-package rusher. He’s strong, tough and active with the talent to become an NFL backup.

Per Damian Parson of The Draft Network, Fehoko has a fourth-round value. That just so happens to be the only round the Titans don’t have a pick in.

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6 early-round, mid-round, and dark-horse Saints prospects at defensive end

Identifying 6 early-round, mid-round, and dark-horse New Orleans Saints draft prospects at defensive end:

The New Orleans Saints are feeling some serious pressure to address their defensive tackles depth chart after most of the players from last year’s team left in free agency, but they need help at defensive end, too. They haven’t gotten anything out of their 2021 first-round pick Payton Turner and, right now, it looks like the starting ends will be a 34-year-old Cameron Jordan on one side and career backup Carl Granderson on the other — and both players are entering the final year of their contracts.

Turner and Tanoh Kpassagnon round out the depth chart, which doesn’t inspire great confidence after a couple of blitzing linebackers outproduced them as pass rushers last year. The Saints didn’t lose much in Marcus Davenport but they still need a big boost at defensive end.

It’ll be tough for the Saints to address all of their priorities in the opening rounds, though, so it’s worth taking a look at the 2023 draft through a wider lens. We’re going to spend the next few days highlighting prospects who fit New Orleans’ prototypes at positions of need in the early rounds, the middle of the draft, and the dark horses expected to be available later on. Let’s start at defensive end: