When the Bucs drafted Vanderbilt running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn with the 76th overall pick, I think the NFL world was about as shocked as you can be in the third round of a virtual draft.

Tampa Bay selecting a running back wasn’t surprising; we’d consistently mocked them a day two running back here at PewterReport.com, and most in the national media had followed suit with any extended mock drafts that they did. The Bucs like Ronald Jones III, but head coach Bruce Arians had been adamant this offseason about adding pass-catching talent to the backfield, and general manager Jason Licht sure seemed to support that position.

Bucs RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers

But Vaughn? The Vanderbilt running back had garnered very little attention leading up to the draft, even after running a strong 4.51 40 at 5-foot-10, 218 pounds during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Most expected him to be a mid-Day 3 selection, but a second-round run on running backs may have changed his fortunes considerably.

From pick No. 32 to pick No. 62, six running backs went off the board. To make matters worse, do-everything WR/RB Antonio Gibson, whom the Bucs had shown some interest in the pre-draft process, was snatched off the board at No. 66 overall, 10 spots ahead of Tampa Bay’s selection in Round 3.

That left the Bucs in a difficult position. Their next pick wouldn’t occur until No. 161 overall in the fifth round, 85 spots down the board. Overreacting to runs at a position is never a good idea, but Tampa Bay needed backfield help and there was a real chance that all of the players they deemed draftable at the position could have been off the board by its selection in the fifth round.

So the Bucs reached for a running back in Vaughn, hoping that his 66 collegiate catches, including 28 a season ago, would solve the absence of a pass-catching, splash-play threat in Tampa Bay’s backfield.

Bad news: I don’t think it will, although Vaughn’s addition certainly won’t hurt the team either.

Good news: I’m not sure it will matter much if Vaughn’s impact on the offense is minimal.

Don’t get me wrong, it is rarely a good idea to reach for any position in the draft, especially running back. No position has less of an impact on wins and scoring points than running back, and no position is impact is more replaceable from one ball carrier to another. I didn’t think that Vaughn was worth a third-round selection in my pre-draft evaluation of his tape, and re-visiting that conclusion after the draft has only confirmed my initial thinking.

The most valuable thing a running back can provide an offense is what he does as a pass catcher and how often he breaks tackles/makes defenders miss. Vaughn is simply average in all of those areas. He has good vision, a little creativity and limited explosiveness to get through creases without taking some shots. The senior runs too upright to break many tackles, and he’s too tight in the hips to make many opponents miss.

As a runner and as a receiver, Vaughn is just a guy. He will get what is blocked for him and he runs hard enough to maybe get a little extra on occasion, but for the most part he will do his job, not screw it up and little else. If he’s sprung free and clear into the open field, there is some decent breakaway speed on his tape, but those opportunities for running backs aren’t frequent enough to hang your hat on in the NFL.

Titans RB Derrick Henry – Photo by: Getty Images

For example, Tennessee’s Derrick Henry, the league’s leading rusher from a year ago with 1,540 yards on 303 carries, only had five runs longer than 30 yards during the 2019 regular season. The key to becoming a 1,000-yard rusher isn’t just breaking off runs of 30 yards or more, it’s having enough wiggle or elusive to break off multiple runs of 10 yards or more on a game-by-game basis.

I watched a lot of Vaughn tape, and I was rarely amazed and rarely underwhelmed. Running, receiving, pass-protecting … it’s average to just above average the vast majority of the time. He’s not going to kill you in any area, but he’s also not the type of play-maker that will instantly demand touches because of his big-play ability. He’s just a better version of Peyton Barber.

The only thing Vaughn might be below average at right now is route-running. Some of his routes are brutal. I know he’s not the primary target on this play, but this is a junior high football level hitch route (Vaughn is in the middle of the formation in the slot towards the bottom of the screen).

Against a South Carolina linebacker, Vaughn tries to change speeds and just simply isn’t very explosive out of his break. Compare this to the top guys in the class like Clyde Edwards-Helaire and D’Andre Swift, and it’s obvious Vaughn isn’t on their level.

I have seen better from Vaughn as a route runner, but the moments are few and far between. He hit a quick juke on Florida edge defender Jonathan Greenard to get separation in Vandy’s match-up against the Gators this season, but couldn’t finish on an ugly low throw (slot to the boundary side).

Although it’s not a big deal for running backs, Vaughn’s catch radius is pretty small due to his tight upper half and short arms. He’s not going to be making a bunch of tough catches down the field, which is fine given what his role will likely be in the Bucs offense – angle routes, quick outs, occasional hitches from empty and plenty of targets in the screen game.

Since we’ve already addressed that his routes need work and he may lack the flexibility and burst to ever sink and accelerate out of breaks at a high level, let’s talk about Vaughn’s work in the screen game. No, he’s not going to be a big tackle-breaker or tackle-shaker in this area, but everyone is harder to tackle in open space than they are around the box, and how Vaughn sets up his blocks and moves toward open space in the screen game is encouraging. He seems to make the most of his opportunities when catching screen passes, and the 75-yard touchdown against Florida and his 66-yard touchdown against Missouri were some of his better efforts.

So Vaughn isn’t a game-changer, but he should be mildly helpful to an offense that simply needs adequate pass game help from the running back position. If Vaughn can improve his pass protection – he surrendered 17 pressures on 229 pass-blocking snaps in college per Pro Football Focus’ draft guide – then he could definitely win those third down snaps over Jones and Dare Ogunbowale.

But Vaughn isn’t going to be Edwards-Helaire or Swift as a receiver, and you know what? That’s okay. If there is one position on an NFL roster where it is okay to have players that are “just guys,” it’s at the running back position. We’ve seen countless examples of successful offenses and running games that didn’t have any household names at running back, yet still racked up wins at a high rate. The 2019 version of the 49ers and Chiefs, the 2018 Rams after Todd Gurley fell off due to injury, the Patriots every year, the 2017 Eagles, and the list goes on and on.

If the Bucs offense is going to be successful this season, the least important part of that process will be what Vaughn and Jones bring to the table. Notice I didn’t say they wouldn’t have a part in it. They will. Every piece of a unit matters. But they will have the least important part.

Tom Brady. Mike Evans. Chris Godwin. Rob Gronkowski. O.J. Howard. Tyler Johnson. Cameron Brate. Donovan Smith. Tristan Wirfs. Alex Cappa. Ali Marpet. Ryan Jensen. What all of these guys can do on the field will matter more – positively or negatively – to Tampa Bay’s offensive success or failure, compared to what a running back can or will bring to the table.

Bucs RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn – Photo by: Buccaneers

That’s why it isn’t worth fretting about the too-early selection of Vaughn by the Bucs. In the end, he’ll be an adequate player for a role that was never going to do much to change the team’s fortunes this season anyway. There are more important forces at work here, and if those click into place, then even former Bucs bust Jeremy McNichols could slide into the backfield and you’d never know the difference.

Okay, maybe the McNichols reference went too far. But you get the point.

Tampa Bay’s offense is loaded, and not having a premier running back isn’t a significant concern. If anything, it may force the Bucs to continue to throw the ball more, which is a process that has been proven to lead to more wins and points.

Sounds like a good thing to me.

Did you like this article? Head to the Internet tip jar and please donate to PewterReport.com today to help our business overcome the financial hardship due to COVID-19. One-time donations start as low as $10 – or donate monthly for as low as $3 per month. Thank you for your support! CLICK HERE TO DONATE