Vaughn is expected to enjoy a robust and diverse role during his rookie season despite the presence of Ronald Jones, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports. "The idea is to get him here and see what he does best," Buccaneers general manger Jason Licht said of Vaughn. "We know that he's got good speed. We know that he can catch the ball. We know that he's good in space - he's been very productive there. I think he's capable of playing on all three downs so you can't have too many good backs."
The third-round pick out of Vanderbilt arrives in Tampa with an impressive body of work over his last two college seasons, a stretch during which he demonstrated a knack for breaking off long runs and showed reliable hands. Vaughn should provide an upgrade over Peyton Barber in terms of complementing Jones, as Barber averaged an unspectacular 3.9 yards per carry or less over each of the last three seasons. Vaughn could slide into a role that affords him somewhere in the neighborhood of the 150 carries the now-departed Barber logged last season, at a minimum. Moreover, if Vaughn proves trustworthy as an outlet option out of the backfield, Smith speculates that he could become the primary third-down back and serve in a function similar to that of James White during his time alongside new Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady in New England.