The Dallas Cowboys did the bare minimum this offseason to address the running back position. Instead of drafting their RB of the future or signing a worthwhile stopgap in free agency, they opted to re-sign Rico Dowdle and sign vets Ezekiel Elliott and Royce Freeman.
Many fans hoped the lack of splash would be good news for Deuce Vaughn, the Cowboys’ sixth-round pick last year. Vaughn’s underdog story was enough to win over Dallas fans and he quickly became a national heartthrob with a dazzling preseason.
The regular season was a much different story for Vaughn. Buried on the depth chart behind Tony Pollard, Elliott, Dowdle and undrafted free agent Hunter Luepke, the former Kansas State star was a healthy scratch for 10 games and struggled in the seven games he was active.
Even though the Cowboys’ running backs are nothing to write home about, Vaughn needed to shine in training camp and preseason to carve out a role in year two. Unfortunately, he faces a steeper climb to even make the 53-man roster after he suffered an injury.
Cowboys RB Deuce Vaughn’s hamstring injury could be fatal to 53-man roster chances
Vaughn missed practice again on Tuesday with a hamstring injury. The injury has kept Vaughn sidelined for nearly a week. Mike McCarthy noted that Vaughn, who’s taken reps with the wide receivers, has missed opportunities to run live drills and installs with his package at WR.
This is a serious setback for Vaughn as he tries to find a role in a crowded backfield and receiver room. To make matters worse for the 22-year-old, Royce Freeman has received glowing reviews from McCarthy in his absence.
“Royce is just a vet that seems very very comfortable in our system has picked it up schematically and has a really good understanding particularly in the in the protection part,” said McCarthy. “He does everything well, (we) knew him is a runner but when you see running backs when the bullets are really flying and the pass protection part of it, the declaration, the adjustments, all that, I think it’s been excellent.”
Freeman could end up on the 53-man roster when all is said and done, and Hunter Luepke has put together an impressive camp as well. The Cowboys trust Luepke in a variety of roles, including as a blocker and on special teams. Luepke was active for all 17 games last season.
If the roster deadline was tomorrow, Elliott, Dowdle, Freeman and Luepke are probably Dallas’ four horsemen at running back.
In terms of the WR room, that ship might already be sailed in terms of Vaughn contributing in that facet. While Vaughn has been shelved, the likes of Tyron Billy-Johnson, Jalen Cropper and David Durden have all stacked strong days in Oxnard. Each of them will be fortunate to make the team at such a crowded position, and they all currently deserve it more than Vaughn.
There’s still time for Vaughn to get back on the field and prove himself, but continued missed practices could be devastating to his roster hopes.
