Jaydon Blue is wasting no time making the Cowboys feel good about their patience.
Dallas has only gotten through two full training camp practices in Oxnard this week, but the second-year running back is already stacking standout moments. After a rookie season that was mostly about learning, waiting and watching from the sideline in street clothes, Blue is making a loud early case that year one should be treated like a footnote.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer has been quick to point to Blue as one of the bright spots from camp, and that praise has matched what’s showing up on the field. Blue turned in a long touchdown run on Wednesday, then came back Thursday and flashed that same burst again during the scrimmage portion, slicing through the defense for another big play.
That kind of speed is exactly why the Cowboys believed enough in him to take him in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Dallas kept the Houston-area native and former Texas Longhorns standout close to home, and there were plenty of people last preseason who thought he might be ready to factor into the backfield right away.
But Javonte Williams quickly shut that door, and Blue never really got a foothold in the rotation. When Miles Sanders went down with a season-ending injury in the middle of the year, the Cowboys even had to bring up Malik Davis from the practice squad.
Blue’s rookie numbers tell the story of how far he had to climb. He was inactive for 12 games and finished with 38 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown, with much of that production coming in Week 18’s loss to the New York Giants.
Now, though, the early signs are pointing in a different direction. If Dallas is going to make a push into the playoffs, it needs a reliable No. 2 behind Williams, and Blue is giving the coaching staff a reason to believe he can be that guy.
He’ll get a bigger stage soon enough. With Williams and the rest of the starters likely to sit, Blue should see plenty of work in the Cowboys’ three-game preseason slate, starting with the Aug. 15 trip to face the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.
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