Dustin Vaughan first came on my radar with a YouTube video spoofing a pre-draft interview. Taking an instant liking to his sense of humor, I was curious if he actually could back up his otherwise false-bravado.
He was impressive for being a UDFA; in fact, he was the most impressive rookie QB not named Romo since Romo’s first stint in preseason as a UDFA pick-up. The game doesn’t seem to be too big or fast for him and he could very well make it difficult to slide him to the practice squad which is where he likely is headed, given the Cowboys health and talent issues on the defensive side of the ball.
He showed good defensive rush awareness and reminded me a little of a young Romo creating time in the pocket. On his last play, it seemed from my point of view that he made a mistake trying to scramble out of the pocket where he looked to still have some protection and time to make a last-minute throw. Outside of the game-ending blunder, overall, he seems like a guy worthy of being kept around to see if he can be developed.
He showed poise (for the most part), elusiveness to create time in the pocket with his feet, and looked to have good ball placement throwing at all levels, which is not surprising considering he threw for 5,401 yards, 53 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions in 2013. It was Division II football in a spread offense, but still, you don’t put up those record-setting type of stats without some ability as a QB, even if it was against lesser competition.
