Vaughn earned praise Thursday from coach Bruce Arians for both his toughness and superior vision as a runner, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.
The rookie had a brief hiccup at the start of training camp with his placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but it appears he's starting to make up for lost time. Arians anointed Ronald Jones as the clear-cut lead back heading into camp, putting the onus on the rookie to progressively make a dent into the third-year pro's playing time with his own performance. As is usually the case for young running backs, one of the keys to snaps for Vaughn will be his consistency in pass protection, and to that end, it's worth noting Arians also remarked that the Vanderbilt product was quickly finding out how difficult "some NFL pass rushers are to block" in early practices. Smith separately reports Arians noted Friday that Vaughn is also a consideration for kickoff returns, especially with T.J. Logan (knee) slated to undergo surgery Saturday for a patellar tendon injury suffered in Thursday's practice.