One of the biggest positional battles that the Dallas Cowboys are trying to figure out is what to do at running back behind Javonte Williams.
The good news is that Dallas is in a much better position at running back now than they were a year ago, when we weren’t sure who was going to start in Week 1 against Philadelphia. Williams had a fantastic season for Dallas and became one of the NFL’s biggest surprises.
Finding a suitable RB2 behind Williams has much smaller stakes than what we were discussing a year ago, and the Cowboys feel like they have a pretty high-floor player in Malik Davis, who functioned as the backup running back for most of the 2025 season.
Davis has been rock-solid throughout the preseason, and it does appear that he is the leader in the clubhouse for the No. 2 job. But there is another running back who also showed out in Week 2 of the preseason: Jaydon Blue.
Jaydon Blue remains an enigma in the Cowboys' running back room
It’s been an up-and-down offseason for Jaydon Blue, but he’s coming off arguably the best performance of his career in Week 2 of the preseason.
Blue led the team in rushing yards with 75 and recorded three missed tackles forced, according to Pro Football Focus. Just to put that in perspective, Blue had just four missed tackles forced during his entire rookie season (including the 2025 preseason).
For the first time in his NFL career, we saw Blue run with power and conviction. He was actually running behind his pads, and there were multiple runs where he moved piles. That was not something that happened against the Seahawks, and it certainly didn’t happen during his rookie year.
Does this mean that Blue is starting to turn the corner as a player? Is he finally becoming the player we all hoped he would be coming out of Texas? That’s certainly possible. But the more likely outcome is that the Cardinals are just bad.
Blue averaged 5.0 yards per carry on 15 attempts against Arizona, which is very impressive. But it is worth noting that the other three running backs (Malik Davis, Phil Mafah, and Israel Abanikanda) carried the ball a combined 14 times for 83 yards (5.9 yards per attempt).
That’s not to take anything away from Blue, but it is a reminder that the quality of the opponent on Saturday night was not the best. We know that the Cowboys don’t overweigh the preseason (good or bad), and they rely on weeks of practice to determine who is on and off the roster.
Should the Cowboys keep Jaydon Blue?
With Davis likely to be the primary backup to Williams, the question is whether Blue should stay on the 53-man roster or should Dallas shop for an alternative?
There is also the possibility that Dallas just keeps two running backs on the active roster, with Hunter Luepke serving as the third back. We’ve seen Dallas go this route before and load up their practice squad with running backs, should they need them.
The truth is that Blue has shown some improvements this summer, but not enough to be considered a lock to make the roster. In an ideal world, the Cowboys would release him and keep Blue on the practice squad as he continues to develop and bring him along slowly. That is still a possibility, but it might be worth the risk for Dallas.
Instead, the better play would be to keep Blue on the 53-man roster and hope that he develops. There are more well-rounded backs who are likely to be cut or traded over the next few weeks who could prove to be an upgrade over Blue.
However, it’s very unlikely that any of them will have the speed or quickness that Blue possesses. And that’s what makes this whole decision difficult. Blue showed enough on Saturday to warrant a longer look after a less-than-stellar outing against the Seahawks. But by no means is his roster spot safe.
Don’t be surprised if the Cowboys have a wandering eye when it comes to other running backs across the NFL. But the odds of them finding one who is as talented as Blue seem pretty low.
This is still an ongoing battle for Blue and the rest of the running backs on the roster, but it does appear that he has separated himself somewhat from Mafah and Abanikanda going into the final preseason game.
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