The Cowboys selected Vaughn in the sixth round of the NFL Draft from Kansas State, and after a highlight-filled training camp and preseason debut, he could end up as a change-of-pace back in Dallas to begin the season. Expect him to be a late-rounder, especially in PPR leagues. Vaughn is small in stature but has incredible balance to go with a low center of gravity and really nice receiving skills. If you remember Darren Sproles, Vaughn is a slightly slower version -- someone the Cowboys could use as many as six times per week this season.
Vaughn (coach's decision) is inactive for Thursday night's game against the Seahawks.
Vaughn is third on the Dallas running back depth chart behind Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle. The rookie has 21 carries for 38 yards and six catches for 30 yards on 52 offensive snaps this season.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Won't play Sunday
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Vaughn (coach's decision) is inactive Thursday against the Commanders, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.
Vaughn will take a seat again in Week 12, as Rico Dowdle (ankle) will play against Washington. The former's next chance to play will be Week 13 against the Seahawks.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Back to inactive list
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Vaughn (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game at Carolina, Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News reports.
The 22-year-old suited up last week against the Giants after being a healthy scratch the previous three games, and he'll return to the inactive list Sunday with Rico Dowdle (ankle) available. Vaughn has 21 carries for 38 yards and six catches for 30 yards in six games this season, and his role is unlikely to change much while Dowdle and starter Tony Pollard are healthy.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Healthy scratch Monday
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Vaughn (coach's decision) is listed as inactive for Monday's game against the Chargers, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
Vaughn's playing time has been inconsistent through five games this season, with his snap share topping out at 30 percent in the Cowboys' Week 4 blowout of the Patriots. Overall, he's averaging exactly two yards on his 20 carries and has gathered in all five of his targets for 19 yards. Dallas signaled that it was making a change in its reserve RB ranks by elevating Malik Davis ahead of Monday's contest to provide backfield depth alongside Rico Dowdle behind starter Tony Pollard.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Workload could increase
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Vaughn carried the ball eight times for nine yards and caught his only target for two yards in Sunday's rout of the Patriots.
While he didn't do much with the volume, this was still the most touches Vaughn has seen in an NFL game to date. The rookie's increased workload came as a result of an injury to Rico Dowdle (hip), so Vaughn could continue seeing a bigger role in the Dallas backfield behind starter Tony Pollard in Week 5 against the 49ers.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Flashes in Week 2 win
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Vaughn carried the ball three times for 16 yards and caught all three of his targets for 16 yards in Sunday's win over the Jets.
With the Cowboys routing another opponent, the depth options in the backfield behind Tony Pollard saw significant volume -- Vaughn's six touches were topped by Rico Dowdle's seven, and KaVontae Turpin handled three touches as well. After a disappointing NFL debut in Week 1, this time around Vaughn showed glimpses of the explosiveness that made him a preseason darling, with his longest gain going for 13 yards. Should anything happen to Pollard, Vaughn will be a priority target on fantasy waiver wires, even if his diminutive stature makes him unlikely to take on a true starter's workload.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Does little in debut
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Vaughn carried the ball six times for eight yards in Sunday's 40-0 rout of the Giants.
The Cowboys were up 16-0 after the first quarter thanks to their defense and special teams and never looked back, creating some garbage-time opportunities for depth players late in the game. Vaughn failed to impress in his first NFL action, though, and both Rico Dowdle (24 rushing yards on six carries) and KaVontae Turpin (14 yards and a TD on three carries) did more with their chances out of the backfield once Tony Pollard was done for the night. Vaughn made plenty of highlight reels in college and even the preseason, but the 5-foot-6 rookie still has to prove his skills can overcome his size against the highest level of competition.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Stashes (RB Preview)
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You can insert Rico Dowdle here as well, for two reasons. One, it's possible the Cowboys don't increase Tony Pollard's workload and one of these backs has standalone value. Regardless, last year was a career-high in touches for Pollard and he ended the year with a pretty substantial ankle injury. If he gets hurt again both Dowdle and Vaughn could be flex-worthy.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Week 1 Waiver Priority List
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The Cowboys made the decision not to bring in a prominent running back to play behind Tony Pollard, which leaves Vaughn and Rico Dowdle (4 percent rostered) as the top backups. While Dowdell is probably the top backup to Pollard right now, I'm more intrigued by Vaughn since he could play in tandem with Pollard during the season. We all know he's a smaller running back at 5-foot-6, 176 pounds, but he could be a surprise playmaker in an explosive offense. I have no problem stashing him on my bench with a late-round pick, and he's worth up to 5 percent of your remaining FAB.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: On initial 53-man roster
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Vaughn was included on the Cowboys' initial 53-man roster following roster cuts Tuesday, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
Behind Tony Pollard, Dallas' situation at running back has cleared up somewhat, with Vaughn and Rico Dowdle, plus fullback Hunter Luepke, making the team over Malik Davis. With Ronald Jones suspended for the first two games of the season, Vaughn -- a 2023 sixth-round pick -- will be among the options to spell Pollard in the early going. In two preseason games, the pint-sized Vaughn became a highlight-reel favorite and notched 13 carries for 64 yards and two touchdowns, while gathering in all four of his targets for five yards.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Another rushing TD
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Vaughn rushed five times for 14 yards and a touchdown, brought in his only target for minus-1 yard and returned two kickoffs for 38 yards in the Cowboys' 22-14 preseason loss to the Seahawks on Saturday night.
Vaughn didn't see any touches until the second half, with Rico Dowdle and Malik Davis both slotting in ahead of him. Although he was nowhere near as efficient on a per-carry basis as during Dallas' preseason-opening loss to the Jaguars, Vaughn still made the highlight reel with a nifty 14-yard touchdown run on which he spun away from would-be tacklers to cap off the Cowboys' first second-half drive. He's essentially a lock for a roster spot already, so he may actually see modest playing time in next Saturday night's exhibition finale versus the Raiders while Dowdle and Davis likely play out the final chapter of their job battle.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Dominates in preseason debut
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Vaughn rushed eight times for 50 yards and a touchdown while catching all three of his targets for six yards in Saturday's preseason tilt against Jacksonville.
Vaughn made quite the splash when he began dominating the defense in the second half of Saturday's contest. The sixth-round pick was brought in to help a position group that lacked reliable pass catchers last year, but he showed us that he could be more than just a passing-down specialist. Vaughn just played a strong hand that could have him jumping ahead of Malik Davis on the depth chart as the top backup to Tony Pollard (ankle) come Week 1. More eyes will certainly be on Vaughn when the Cowboys visit the Seahawks on Saturday for more preseason play.
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Cowboys' Deuce Vaughn: Strong start to camp
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Vaughn has impressed the coaching staff so far in camp both as a runner and a receiver, Saad Yousef of The Athletic reports.
While the diminutive running back's pass-catching skills were apparent in college, it wasn't clear how the rest of his game might translate to the NFL. Through early padded practices, Vaughn has shown an ability to use his 5-foot-6 stature to his advantage by hiding behind blockers before exploding into space. The big test will be how he's able to hold up in pass protection, but if he shows he isn't a total liability, the 2023 sixth-round pick could carve out a consistent role in the offense behind lead back Tony Pollard. Malik Davis, Rico Dowdle and Ronald Jones (suspension) are the other options for backup RB snaps in Dallas.
