Outside of Tyler Guyton, who's officially competing for the left tackle job, arguably no other Dallas Cowboy is under a bigger microscope this offseason than Jaydon Blue.
All eyes will be on first-round pick Caleb Downs, and newcomers like Rashan Gary and Jalen Thompson, but in terms of players with the most to lose and gain, Blue is right at the top. The second-year running back will get every opportunity to win the backup job, and the early returns from OTAs have been overwhelmingly positive.
Jon Machota of The Athletic had the following to say about Blue on the Cowboys Collective podcast (7:45 mark):
"Last but not least, Jaydon Blue getting work with the 1s, targeted in the red zone. (When) practice is over, most guys are leaving the field, Dak [Prescott] hung back and worked for a while with Blue and a couple others, working on some red zone routes. ..."
Dallas Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue is standing out at OTAs
Blue running with the first-team offense is obviously noteworthy. However, the bigger takeaway (at least in my opinion) is that he stayed after practice to put in extra work with Prescott and other members of the offense. It suggests Blue recognizes the opportunity in front of him and is doing everything he can to capitalize on it after a disappointing rookie season.
That is exactly what Cowboys fans wanted to see.
Dare we say that the 22-year-old matured over the offseason? It sure seems like it, as Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram spoke to a source who said that Blue is "more locked in on the details than he ever was in his rookie season."
The reporting on Blue is night and day compared to last year, when he failed to gain the trust of Brian Schottenheimer and the offensive staff. The former Texas Longhorn reportedly had "maturity" issues, which aligns with The Athletic draft expert Dane Brugler hearing from scouts that Blue "may need time to learn what it takes to be a professional."
That certainly appeared to be the case, as Blue was a healthy inactive for 12 games, while Malik Davis, who was still unemployed before Dallas signed him to the practice squad last August, ran away with the RB2 job after Miles Sanders underwent season-ending knee surgery.
Make no mistake: Davis earned the job. He played better than expected, averaging 4.8 yards per carry across 10 games. It had to be humbling -- maybe even embarrassing -- for Blue that he got beaten out by a last-minute signing.
Cowboys fans have hoped that Blue's rookie year was an inflection point rather than a sign of things to come. Early signs suggest that may be the case.
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