6th Round Pick: Deuce Vaughn, RB, Kansas State

[Cowboysrock55]

That's the one thing I think his height will really hold him back on. He'll be able to catch screens and dumpoffs definitely. But down the field where he's covered? I think he'll be limited there.

Yeah, it's hard to picture a 5'5" being easy to see or get the ball too because everyone else is so much bigger. But he did it at an exceptional level in college. As long as you can get the throwing windows, I think he will get open and catch the ball. Just too hard for a guy who is 6+ foot to change directions with him.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Right, good luck to a LB trying to cover him in any open space.

 

[boozeman]

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Deuce Vaughn tops Dallas Cowboys draft class’ in-game athleticism, 3rd among drafted RBs

Reel Analytics was co-founded by Fort Worth native Cory Yates and is used by TCU in recruiting. Deuce Vaugn’s in-game athleticism score was third best among drafted running backs

news.yahoo.com

His analytics say the same, according to Cory Yates, a Fort Worth Western Hills graduate and co-founder of Reel Analytics, a sports tech and data company that analyzes video to measure athleticism so coaches and scouts can evaluate talent more accurately.

Per Yates, the intersection of film and analytics is the white space Reel Analytics pioneered by unlocking new athleticism data to derive its groundbreaking In-Game Athleticism (IGA) Score.

Reel Analytics, which used by a number of colleges in recruiting, including TCU, measures space position players like running backs, receivers, tight ends, linebackers and defensive backs. It give them a proprietary IGA Score derived from position-specific athleticism metrics extracted by video tracking technology. Each metric is weighted, contextualized by percentile rankings, and scored.

And not only was Vaughn’s score of 96.7 tops among all Cowboys drafted players, it was third among running backs, behind only Bijan Robinson (98.3) and Tank Bigsby (97.2), who were drafted in the first and third rounds by the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.

He was four spots ahead of Jahmyr Gibbs (92.1), who picked in the first round by the Detroit Lions.

“Deuce Vaughn is unique in two ways,” Yates said. “First, he has elite change of direction. His average change of direction time is under 0.3 seconds which is top 1% of 3,900 running backs in our database and the best in the 2023 draft class. Second, Vaughn has high-end breakaway speed. We clocked him at a max speed of nearly 22 mph in week 9 vs Oklahoma State.”

 

[Simpleton]

Deuce Vaughn tops Dallas Cowboys draft class’ in-game athleticism, 3rd among drafted RBs

Reel Analytics was co-founded by Fort Worth native Cory Yates and is used by TCU in recruiting. Deuce Vaugn’s in-game athleticism score was third best among drafted running backs

news.yahoo.com

I don't think he has high-end breakaway speed (his 40 time shows this) but he certainly has elite COD, acceleration and short-area quickness/burst, combined with really good vision and balance, which is obviously a dangerous combination.

If he was the exact same player at 5-10, 195 he would've went in the top 50 picks, maybe even in the first.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I don't think he has high-end breakaway speed (his 40 time shows this) but he certainly has elite COD, acceleration and short-area quickness/burst, combined with really good vision and balance, which is obviously a dangerous combination.

If he was the exact same player at 5-10, 195 he would've went in the top 50 picks, maybe even in the first.

Yep, if he was just Gibbs size he would have been a pretty high pick. He just need 4 or 5 more inches...

 

[p1_]

He just need 4 or 5 more inches...

 

[p1_]

 

[Cotton]

That's good stuff. Hopefully it will translate.

 

[Genghis Khan]

That's good in that shows he can carry a load (although it's college and it's not a 1 to 1 translation). But it's bad that a bunch of miles are already on the tires.

 

[boozeman]

That's good in that shows he can carry a load (although it's college and it's not a 1 to 1 translation). But it's bad that a bunch of miles are already on the tires.

I don’t think the wear and tear is that big of a deal if you measure his touches. One thing is with him, like Emmitt Smith, you rarely see him taking a big shot.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I don’t think the wear and tear is that big of a deal if you measure his touches. One thing is with him, like Emmitt Smith, you rarely see him taking a big shot.

Well yeah, could you imagine how difficult it is to get low enough to deliver a blow to a 5'5" RB?

 

[Smitty]

I like this pick but I also feel like this could easily be your classic training camp star or draft day favorite that fizzles out after a short or underwhelming career, like Ryan Switzer.

 

[Rev]

I like this pick but I also feel like this could easily be your classic training camp star or draft day favorite that fizzles out after a short or underwhelming career, like Ryan Switzer.

Well we all knew Switzer was going to fizzle.

 

[Simpleton]

I like this pick but I also feel like this could easily be your classic training camp star or draft day favorite that fizzles out after a short or underwhelming career, like Ryan Switzer.

Maybe, you never know with someone that small, but he was far and away the better player in college compared to Switzer. I remember most being lukewarm on him and thinking he might be a decent slot guy/returner, Vaughn was legitimately one of the best players in college football the last few years and the fact that he got drafted at his size is a testament to that.

 

[ZeroClub]

If someone like Andy Reid or Sean Payton were his next head coach, I'd like Vaughn's chances to make some noise as a rookie.

The question for me is whether McCarthy/Schottenheimer will use Vaughn creatively and effectively (maximizing his strengths, minimizing his limitations). If McCarthy can make it work with Vaughn, it would give me more confidence in McCarthy's abilities. A top-tier coach should be able to maximize the talents of his players.

Not to be negative, but there was talk of using Turpin on offense last year and not much really happened. And, of course, it took the team years to use Pollard appropriately. So I don't think it is a given that the Cowboys will effectively use Vaughn. But maybe McCarthy will, and if so, that would be outstanding.

If Garrett were still coach, there'd be no reason to expect Vaughn would be used effectively.

I've thrown around the word "effectively" without defining it. Ya'll can take a stab at it. I think number of snaps is relevant here (as a necessary but not sufficient condition). If you don't see the field, you can't be effective.

Maybe Vaughn needs the 3rd most RB snaps over the course of the season to be considered effective (perhaps with some snaps coming at a slot). We'd expect Pollard to have the most snaps. Second most snaps could go to Ronald Jones, Malik Jones, or possibly Hunter Luepke (including some H-Back duty?). And then Vaughn. That might work.

 

[p1_]

I blame Kellen Moore for not involving Turpin on offense.
Moore, the guy who lines Zeke up at center for both men’s (Zeke and Moore) final play as Cowboys.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Not to be negative, but there was talk of using Turpin on offense last year and not much really happened.

Turpin is a little different because he is a gadget guy. I don't know if he can really be a real NFL receiver. I don't think Vaughn is a gadget guy. I think he is a legit RB.

 

[Cotton]

Turpin is a little different because he is a gadget guy. I don't know if he can really be a real NFL receiver. I don't think Vaughn is a gadget guy. I think he is a legit RB.

His only fair comp is McCaffrey. Maybe Tyreek Hill to a degree.

 

[bbgun]

I blame Kellen Moore for not involving Turpin on offense.
Moore, the guy who lines Zeke up at center for both men’s (Zeke and Moore) final play as Cowboys.

I'd like to see them use him like Lucky Whitehead, but maybe he is too small.