The Dallas Cowboys had high hopes for rookie running back Jaydon Blue, after drafting him out of Texas in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL draft. Unfortunately, leading up to training camp last year, reports started to surface about Blue’s professionalism and maturity before the team got to Oxnard. Those reports seemed to be true, as Blue only saw action in five games in a healthy rookie season (once recovered from preseason ankle injury), with no great option behind Javonte Williams as the teams RB2.
In the final game of the 2025 season, Cowboys fans got a glimpse of why Blue was highly-touted in the draft. In Week 18 against the New York Giants, Blue rushed 16 times for 64 yards and a touchdown. Blue’s ability to generate explosive plays on the ground or as a receiver were never an issue, but his ability to pass protect, take care of the football, and take the Monday through Saturday stuff seriously seemed to be.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer spoke multiple times about Blue needing to be more consistent in practice in order to earn a jersey on gameday. We saw multiple times last year how seriously first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer took the missing curfew, meetings, and/or not being consistent in practices.
Heading into the 2025 season, the Cowboys had veteran running back Miles Sanders to lean on as a trustworthy backup option to Javonte Williams. Heading into training camp in 2026, there are no standouts to earn the backup running back job behind Williams. Blue’s skillset is a perfect complement to Williams, and his ability to impact the game as both a runner and receiver would be an excellent addition to the Cowboys offense that could use more explosive gains from their running game.
The window for more playing time for Blue in year two is currently wide open. The Cowboys did not sign a veteran running back in free agency, and they did not spend a draft pick on the position in the 2026 NFL draft. Could that be a sign that the team thinks Blue is ready to run with the opportunity, or do they just feel good that the combination of Malik Davis, Jaydon Blue, and Phil Mafah should provide them with enough depth to battle it out in camp?
We will have to find out, but we should all be keeping a close eye on the running back position battle behind Williams when training camp kicks off in just a few months.
