{"id":46530,"date":"2025-05-07T03:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T03:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=46530"},"modified":"2025-05-07T03:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T03:11:09","slug":"breaking-sleeper-14-td-rookie-rb-could-take-over-starting-role-for-cowboys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=46530","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: \u2018Sleeper\u2019 14-TD Rookie RB Could Take Over Starting Role for Cowboys.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2191001785-e1746576621716.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2191001785-e1746576621716.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2191001785-e1746576621716.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2191001785-e1746576621716.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Jaydon Blue\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-dom-ready-time=\"195\" data-img-load-time=\"672\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">University of Texas running back Jaydon Blue.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Whatever University of Texas running back\u00a0Jaydon Blue\u00a0thought about waiting until the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft to hear his name called, once he saw who picked him it\u2019s fair to say all his other concerns faded away.<\/p>\n<p>The first reason was the team that picked him \u2014 the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0\u2014 which we assume is a pretty desirable destination for a player born and raised in Texas and who played college football in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Another reason, and perhaps the one that matters most, is that the Cowboys have the\u00a0depth of a kiddie pool at running back and those carries are up for grabs in a big way.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas is without its leading rusher from 2024 in\u00a0Rico Dowdle, who left for the\u00a0Carolina Panthers\u00a0in free agency. The Cowboys signed their own free agent running back in\u00a0Javonte Williams\u00a0on a 1-year, $3 million contract, but he\u2019s not someone an offense can or should\u00a0build a running game around.<\/p>\n<p>NFL.com\u2019s Chad Reuter put Blue at No. 1 on his list of Day 3 picks who could compete for starter snaps in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Cowboys might begin the year with starting reps going to veteran back Javonte Williams and\u00a0Miles Sanders, but Blue should have a chance to be the guy for the Blue-and-Silver by midseason,\u201d Reuter wrote on May 5. \u201cThe Texas product\u2019s home run-hitting ability as a runner and receiver makes it imperative that he\u2019s on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bleacher Report\u2019s Matt Holder put Blue at the top of his list of \u201cSleeper\u201d running backs who could start for their teams as rookies.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Blue has Chance to Emulate Bucs\u2019 Irving in 2025<\/h2>\n<p>The best rookie running back in the NFL in 2024 was also a mid-to-late round pick in\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u00a0star\u00a0Bucky Irving, who was selected in the fourth round (No. 125 overall) out of Oregon and rushed for 1,122 yards despite\u00a0not becoming the starter until late in the season.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the template Blue and every rookie running back will try and follow in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Both\u00a0NFL.com\u2019s Lance Zierlein\u00a0and Bleacher Report both projected Blue as a third round pick after his breakout season in 2024, when he had a career high 1,098 yards from scrimmage and scored 14 touchdowns as the Longhorns advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals.<\/p>\n<p>Blue, 5-foot-9 and 196 pounds, did the main thing he needed to do in the pre-draft process when he ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing, 4.38 seconds\u00a0at the NFL scouting combine.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">\u201cThe buzz around\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"r-18u37iz\">#Cowboys<\/span><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">\u00a0RB\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-b88u0q\">Jaydon<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-b88u0q\">Blue<\/span><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">\u00a0is starting to build,\u201d\u00a0Brandon Loree of Blogging With the Boys\u00a0wrote on his official account on May 5. \u201cWith no clear cut starter, there\u2019s a chance he gets starting snaps as soon as this season.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cJ<span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-b88u0q\">aydon<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-b88u0q\">Blue<\/span><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">\u00a0has so much more juice than anyone else in Dallas\u2019s RB room,\u201d\u00a0X user @TreyK_FB\u00a0wrote on April 28.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe position looks wide open, and Blue \u2014 the youngest and most talented back on the roster \u2014 is in a prime spot,\u201d\u00a0X user Fantasy Football Anonymous\u00a0wrote on their official account. \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly when, but I\u2019m confident Jaydon Blue will take over as the Cowboys\u2019 primary ball carrier before the season is over.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty University of Texas running back Jaydon Blue. Whatever University of Texas running back\u00a0Jaydon Blue\u00a0thought about waiting until the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft to&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: \u2018Sleeper\u2019 14-TD Rookie RB Could Take Over Starting Role for Cowboys.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=46530\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: \u2018Sleeper\u2019 14-TD Rookie RB Could Take Over Starting Role for Cowboys.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty University of Texas running back Jaydon Blue. 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