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Green Bay Packers OLB James Vaughters earning his spot

By Keegan Matheson

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Green Bay Packers outside linebacker James Vaughters has slowly risen from the large pool of undrafted free agent signings to stand out as one of several with a legitimate shot to crack the 53-man roster. With two tackles in week one of the preseason, Vaughters looked powerful and intuitive, something the Green Bay Packers expect from the former Stanford standout.


Standing at 6’2″ and 258 pounds, Vaughters does not have the prototypical length that most NFL teams look for in a 3-4 outside linebacker. Especially the Green Bay Packers, who have shifted to longer, leaner athletes with body types such as Julius Peppers and Adrian Hubbard. Vaughters’ greatest gift, however, may be his ability to do more with less.

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A note gym rat, Vaughters bench-pressed 225 pounds a whopping 35 times at his Stanford Pro Day. This raw strength gives him incredible pop on special teams, and while he lacks the technical intricacies needed to consistently rush the passer, he’ll simply out-muscle a blocker often enough. As Michael Cohen of he Journal Sentinel wrote last week, the Packers coaching staff is also intrigued by Vaughter’s athletic and positional versatility, which stretches back to his tight end days in high school.

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After a delayed start to his pro career as he and Ty Montgomery finished up classes at Stanford, Vaughters is now working to master the playbook in front of him. Something that should not be difficult for someone of his educational background.

“First you see it on paper and then you see it 3-D moving full speed,” Vaughters told Cohen. “You have as much time as you need when you’re writing a political science paper. When you’ve got bullets flying it’s a completely different atmosphere.”

For now, Vaughters has the inside edge on fellow outside linebacker Adrian Hubbard, whose health and performance have been equally inconsistent despite a tantalizing physical makeup. I would also slot Vaughters ahead of Jermauria Rasco, Carl Bradford and Tavarus Dantzler. The linebacker position remains crowded in Green Bay, but with injuries becoming all-too-common at outside linebacker, the door could crack open.

The worst-case scenario for Vaughters should be a placement on Green Bay’s practice squad. General manager Ted Thompson works to keep the bottom of the roster well-supported with players just like this, and his special teams potential will set him apart from some of his competition immediately. This is the name I’ll be watching closest through the next three games, and I expect Thompson will be too.

Next: 2015 Packers Projections: RB Eddie Lacy

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