Bruce Arians has recently spoken praises to rookie running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and there is a chance that he sees his first NFL action this week.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers surprised the entire NFL community when they drafted Ke’Shawn Vaughn out of Vanderbilt in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Everyone knew the Bucs would target a back early on, but this still came as a surprise, given the lack of hype surrounding Vaughn in the pre-draft process.
Despite the immediate question marks, it looked like Vaughn was in a decent position to make an early impact with the Buccaneer offense, especially given Bruce Arians’ prior criticism of Ronald Jones.
Unfortunately, Vaughn had a rough start to camp on the COVID-19 list and missed the crucial rookie period, which likely played a role in Vaughn’s slow camp. After the Buccaneers signed LeSean McCoy and Leonard Fournette, it looked like the rookie had no chance to play.
Even though the Buccaneers are far from a run-first team, it is still surprising that they chose to keep four running backs on their roster, and it looked like Vaughn had no chance of ever making it on the field for offensive reps.
As the Buccaneers have begun to define their offensive identity, Arians has apparently thrown an additional wrench into the plan, as it appears Ke’Shawn Vaughn could finally reach the field this weekend against the Broncos based on a quote tweeted out by Greg Auman.
Arians says he likes what he's seen from rookie running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, said he told him this week to be prepared: "Your time's coming."
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 25, 2020
In a game that the Bucs have to win, and by a convincing margin, this comes as a slight surprise, but it could indicate that the coaching staff has finally started to see what they predicted from one of their newest running backs.
If he does touch the field, Vaughn will likely only be on special teams or if the game is a blowout, but Bucs fans should finally get to see their third-round pick play at last.