Xazavian Valladay Fantasy Stats

In his first game action with the Minnesota Vikings, running back Xazavian Valladay led the team in rushing with 39 yards on eight carries and added one catch for two yards on Friday at Tennessee. It was a solid day for the new acquisition, who has bounced around the league since going undrafted in 2023. The Vikings have an opening for a third running back behind Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason, but Valladay will have an uphill climb to make Minnesota's final 53-man roster before Week 1 of the regular season.

New Orleans Saints running back Xazavian Valladay was released by the organization on Friday. This isn't a shocking move given the Saints recently signed running back Cam Akers. The Saints running back room was getting a little crowded, so they've decided to move on from Valladay. The 26-year-old hasn't done much during his pro career. He appeared in only one game on special teams with the New York Jets in 2023. He'll look to land with another organization as depth ahead of the start of the season.

New York Jets running back Xazavian Valladay soaked up plenty of reps in Saturday night's preseason win over the New York Giants in East Rutherford, rushing a team-high 14 times for 28 yards and collecting six of his eight targets for a team-leading 62 yards. Valladay hauled in plenty of checkdowns on Saturday against the Giants, totaling 90 yards on a substantial 20 touches. It was more or less window dressing for the 25-year-old Arizona State product, who is unlikely to be a part of New York's 53-man roster when the regular season begins in what has become a loaded Jets RB room.

The Houston Texans did not select a running back in the 2023 NFL Draft, but they did add one of the most talented undrafted free agent running backs in Arizona State's Xazavian Valladay. NFL.com's Chad Reuter assessed Valladay as the best undrafted running back available. The 23-year-old transferred to Arizona State in 2022 after four seasons at Wyoming, in which he topped 1,000 yards twice. In 2019, he led the Mountain West Conference in rushing yards, with 1,265, and in 2020 and 2021, he finished in the top five. As a fifth-year senior, he ranked second in the Pac-12 with 1,192 rushing yards. The Texans added former Bills running back Devin Singletary as their RB2, but they are weak at RB3 and RB4, so Valladay could have a chance to make the team and rise on the depth chart if he has a good training camp.