Cowboys 3 Camp Stars Offense: Can Deuce Vaughn Block?

The Dallas Cowboys running back battle has been an interesting watch during training camp. With Tony Pollard now the undisputed No. 1 back, the spots behind him are up for grabs.

With the Ronald Jones suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy (which we now know is, he says, his heart medicine), there have been murmurings of a potential Ezekiel Elliott return (yes, Jerry Jones stoked the fire again), but head coach Mike McCarthy is more focused on the current crop at his disposal in Oxnard ... and he likes what he sees.

"Obviously [Jones is] still with us," McCarthy said. "It's a young room. We knew that going in. The development of all of those guys so far has been impressive. I thought the running back group as a whole had a solid day yesterday."

With Malik Davis, Rico Dowdle, Jones, and Hunter Luekpe all behind Pollard, who has now taken on a leadership role within the room, we can see why McCarthy is bullish on this current crop.

Coming off a career-best season last year, as he totaled 1,007 rushing yards and nine touchdowns and grabbed his first Pro Bowl nod, Pollard is quickly making a name for himself in NFL circles.

But it isn't just his play on the field that's catching the eye, it's what he is doing with the young group of backs who currently look to him for guidance.

So as we go through the Three Stars of the Day, Pollard gets a nod ...

3 - POLLARD AS BIG BROTHER This is Zeke's old thing. And now?

"His leadership responsibility has increased and the most important part of it he's doing it within his personality," McCarthy said. "I think Tony's done an outstanding job. I think he's done a great job of being the leader, the veteran in the room."

With a host of young backs looking to stamp their authority on the offense in training camp and Pollard leading by example, McCarthy is happy with what he has seen in Oxnard thus far, leaving those Zeke return rumors well and truly in the rearview mirror. Until Jerry brings it up again, of course.

2 - CEEDEE'S JET SWEEP? The Cowboys seem serious (again) about integrating KaVontae Turpin into the offense. And that would be cool.

The problem with the concept is, it wouldn't be "deceptive.'' Given how limited Turpin has been in Dallas offense, defenses would anticipate that as his role.

So ... it's fun and cool and maybe clever to put on (Twitter) film CeeDee Lamb running that sort of play.

CeeDee Lamb pic.twitter.com/uqEIRn5kdE
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 3, 2023

Lamb is too rangy to be the ideal guy for this role, maybe. Or, maybe, Lamb is destined to be one of the NFL's top-five most productive wideouts in 2023 ... so you simply get him the ball.

1 - DEUCE CAN BLOCK? The Cowboys are fighting furiously against the tide here, insisting that rookie Deuce Vaughn is more than a gimmick, more than a gadget, more than the son of a Dallas scout.

McCarthy is now praising the kid for his blitz protection in padded practice, citing the 5-5 back's knack for knowing how to use his leverage as tool.

McCarthy is not interested in "a good story'' here; he's trying to find 53 football players. If Deuce can block? McCarthy may have just unearthed one of his 53.

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