Dallas Cowboys training camp delivered its first major surprise on Wednesday when Brian Schotteneheimer ended practice early after multiple fights broke out. Schottenheimer ordered players to run sprints before blowing practice dead after less than 50 plays in team drills.
Before that, though, there was a lot to love from the session. Dak Prescott was terrific and Nathan Thomas had a strong day filling in for Tyler Guyton at left tackle. However, it was rookie running back Jaydon Blue who stole the show yet again.
After consecutive strong practices, Schottenheimer rewarded Blue with his most extensive work with the first-team offense. The Cowboys' head coach praised Blue for putting in the work to get up to speed with the nuances of the running back position.
"I think he’s realizing, ‘OK, I’m really talented. I’m really good. But I’m in the NFL now. And most of these guys are really, really good so I have to do the things off the field, preparing mentally in the class room, studying a little bit extra the installs for the next day, taking care of my body.’ It’s been fun to see," Schottenheimer said, via The Athletic's Jon Machota.
Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue keeps making noise in training camp
Schottenheimer mentioned that Blue was slow to pick things up in OTAs and minicamp. That may or may not coincide with the report from former Cowboys offensive assistant Glenn Smith, who said he heard that Blue is "borderline lazy" and that Dallas is not happy with his work ehtic.
Whether Smith's intel was true or not, Blue has put his head down and let his play do the talking. That is exactly what you want to see from a player who is facing questions about his maturity.
Blue made one of the catches of camp last week, torquing his body to snag a diving one-handed pass from Joe Milton. He’s shown the ability to work in tight spaces, slip through traffic, and his speed has been exactly as advertised.
None of this means Blue will open the season as RB1. That nod will likely go to Miles Sanders or Javonte Williams. Still, it’s huge for the Cowboys that just one week of camp has pushed Blue into first-team reps. It's a promising start as he looks to carve out a key role in Schottenheimer’s offense as a rookie.
If Blue continues putting in the work behind the scenes, it will be impossible for Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Klayton Adams to keep him off the field come September.