4 Cowboys fan favorites who are in danger of being cut before Week 1

4. Deuce Vaughn, RB

The Dallas Cowboys drafting Deuce Vaughn was simply one of the coolest stories of the entire 2023 NFL Draft.

Vaughn's father is Dallas Cowboys scout Chris Vaughn. Chris got to let his own son know that the team he works for would be drafting him. It was one of the greatest moments you'll see during the Draft.

Despite how awesome this moment was, did I mention that the NFL is a brutal business? Deuce Vaughn is an exciting young player, but he's facing an uphill battle to make it in the NFL. He scored just a 4.32 on the RAS (Relative Athletic Score) scale out of 10, and at 5-foot-5, 179 pounds, he ranks in the lowest percentile you'll probably ever see when it comes to players at his position (or any other, for that matter).

Every Dallas Cowboys fan is going to be rooting for Deuce Vaughn, there's no question about it, but he's facing some stiff competition in the form of undrafted rookie Hunter Luepke, veteran free agent Ronald Jones, as well as Malik Davis and Rico Dowdle. Vaughn's going to need a big preseason to set himself apart from those other guys and he could end up hitting the waiver wire if he doesn't show enough in the next six weeks.

Even as a sixth-round pick, there's plenty of pressure on a player like Deuce Vaughn right now. Fans are expecting him to come in and make plays, out-playing his draft status immediately. In an article on the Dallas Cowboys flagship website, there was a discussion over his potential role for the coming season:

"Yes. All jokes aside, Vaughn presents a very intriguing option for a Cowboys offense that is now designed to capitalize on the versatility of its skill players. That means while it's easy to view the rookie as an ankle-breaker in space, which will garner him targets out of the backfield and quick tosses (and the like) to iso him against linebackers, don't forget he's also capable of being a short-yardage threat due to his size. His collegiate film showed Vaughn often squeaking through the group of trees on critical third downs and on the goal line."

- Patrik Walker

It's going to be up to Vaughn to take advantage of the opportunities he's given and set himself apart both on offense and perhaps also in the return game on special teams. Who knows? Maybe Vaughn will be the reason KaVontae Turpin ends up out of a job.