Criticism ‘added fuel to the fire’ for emerging Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue
Two days before the Dallas Cowboys arrived at training camp in Southern California, an interview with former offensive assistant Glenn Smith surfaced with him saying that rookie running back Jaydon Blue is “borderline lazy” and that the team is not thrilled with his work habits.
Whether the hearsay was truth or not, it actually came at a perfect time for Blue.
“All that did was add a little fuel to my fire,” Blue said. “Of course, I know I’m not lazy. I know the work I put in. As you can see, I’m having a great camp so far. I’m just ready to continue building on that.”
A great camp might be an understatement for Blue at this point, as he displayed his elite speed and pass-catching ability with the second-team unit through six practices before getting a shot with Dak Prescott and the first-team offense in Wednesday’s practice.
“It’s fun being in there with Dak, man,” Blue said after taking his initial first-team reps. “He’s a very smart quarterback, he’s a veteran. He makes our job at the running back position a lot easier, sometimes he’ll tell us where to go. It was fun getting some reps with those guys with the ones, and I’m just looking forward to keeping competing.”
The competition in the running back room has been one of the main storylines of training camp, as Blue is going toe-to-toe with veterans Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders and Deuce Vaughn for one of two feature roles in head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s offense. But as his training camp performance continues to shine, Blue seems to be the first to emerge as a strong contender to land one of those spots.
“Jaydon’s been awesome,” offensive coordinator Klayton Adams said. “He’s fun to be around, he’s got a bubbly personality. Loves football, extremely competitive. When the ball is in his hands, exciting things happen. He is, in my opinion, blossoming.”
Specifically, it’s been the fifth-round pick’s versatility and intention that has stood out to Schottenheimer. While he never characterized his rookie offseason as “lazy” in reference to Blue, he did say he had some catching up to do. Schottenheimer sees a well caught-up player now in training camp.
“I think in the spring, he picked it up maybe slower than we had hoped,” Schottenheimer said. “Not now. He’s got it, he’s figuring it out. He’s one of those guys that doesn’t say much, but there’s a big-time competitive fire in there. He wants to be great. He wants to be elite. He’s talented.”
From barely scratching together reps with the second team during minicamp in early June to now competing for first team opportunities in training camp, Blue has caught the eye of everyone in Oxnard. From wide receiver CeeDee Lamb saying Blue’s speed is “fast as s***” to the praise from his coaches, Blue feels himself settling in.
“It means a lot,” Blue said. “One of my things I said I was going to do when I came here was be a professional and do my job. I just want to make a big impression coming in and being a rookie. It feels good to have my coaches say great things about me.”
A lot is left to play out not only in Oxnard, but in three upcoming preseason games that begin with a trip to Los Angeles to take on the Rams on Aug. 9. But with a strong start to training camp and overwhelming praise from those around him, Blue has taken the first of many required solid steps to attain his goals for 2025.
“My big goal is to win Offensive Rookie of the Year,” he said. “That’s something I want to do, but the main thing is to make the play when my number is called and do everything I can to help this team win.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 6:37 PM.
