Buccaneers have to move Ke’Shaen Vaughn into second role

A promising showing

Ke’Shawn Vaughn’s showing has been extremely limited so far this season. With only 26 total rushes and ten targets in the passing game, the sample size may be too small to determine Vaughn’s full capabilities accurately, but it is clear that he needs more reps to ascertain his potential correctly.

In one game with garbage time touches and one in the lead role versus a depleted Lions team, Vaughn has shown great promise through the tackles. His vision, which is miles ahead of Leonard Fournette, shows that Vaughn has the mental ability to be a great back in the NFL.

No one would consider Vaughn a shifty option, but his ability to make one cut and then hit open space is a breath of fresh air compared to some other Buccaneer backups. If it wasn’t for several carries on obvious running downs to bleed the clock out late, Vaughn could have easily finished the game with over five yards per carry.

While the Lions do have a terrible defense, Vaughn’s performance in this scenario was almost as good as it could’ve been. Tampa Bay will want to get a better read on Vaughn in the passing game, but his performance against the Lions showed a player who is ready to prove himself.

The main focus in the run game tomorrow should be to get Ronald Jones over the 1,000-yard mark, but Vaughn should be a serious focus as well. The Buccaneers need to see what he can do with ten to twelve touches, even if that means relegating McCoy or Fournette to lesser roles.

If he plays well, Vaughn could help establish a lightning and thunder duo in Tampa with Ronald Jones, but this only happens if the Buccaneers can accurately evaluate what he can do as a runner.

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