A lot of folks penciled Jaydon Blue onto the Dallas Cowboys' 53-man roster after he didn't play in the preseason finale. It turns out, Dallas had seen all it needed from Blue, and not in a good way, as he was stunningly waived during roster cuts.
The Cowboys wasted no time finding his replacement, as they claimed running back Emari Demercado off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs.
A productive runner who was hidden behind James Conner in Arizona for the last three years, Demercado is the antithesis of Jaydon Blue.
Demercado averaged a ridiculous 6.5 yards per carry over his three seasons with the Cardinals. It helps that he ran in Klayton Adams' scheme in 2023 and '24, but the following quote from Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will give you a better idea of what Demercado brings to the table.
"I like the pass protection," Reid said, via KC Sports Network. "I like the way ... he's not going to bounce anything or do any of that. He sees it [the hole], and then he lowers it, and he hits it in the run game, and I think that's important. Pass routes are pretty good. ..."
New Cowboys RB Emari Demercado is a clear upgrade over Jaydon Blue
At the risk of kicking a guy while he's down, is Reid's description of Demercado not everything Blue isn't as both a player and runner?
We're not breaking news by saying that Blue's pass protection needed work. That's one of the many reasons he failed to gain the trust of Brian Schottenheimer. As dynamic as he is in open space, he seemingly didn't care much about the unflattering parts of the position.
Reid describes Demercado as a decisive runner, which is precisely what the Cowboys struggled to get consistently from Blue. We only saw that trait in glimpses.
In Dallas' second preseason game this August, Blue ran with more conviction and physicality than we'd seen at any point in a Cowboys uniform. He hit holes without hesitation, trusted his blocking, and seemed less interested in searching for the home run.
That version of Blue never became the norm. One preseason game was never going to be enough to convince the Cowboys he had turned a corner.
Emari Demercado does everything better than Jaydon Blue except run faster
Demercado may not be as explosive as Blue, but he still ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at his TCU pro day. That's nothing to sneeze at. Regardless, there is serious value in a back who identifies the crease, puts his foot in the ground, and gets downhill.
The 27-year-old can also catch passes out of the backfield. Again, he was buried behind workhorse James Conner, but he still averaged 21.0 catches per season. And he can play on special teams, as he returned a total of six kickoffs over the last two seasons.
The Cowboys experimented with Blue as a returner in practice, but ultimately never trusted him enough to test it out in a game.
We hope Blue catches on with another team, but it says a lot about his professionalism, or lack thereof, that he couldn't stick with a Dallas team that was practically begging for someone to bring a big-play element to its backfield.
The fact that the Cowboys identified -- and secured -- an upgrade on the waiver wire pretty much says it all. Demercado is much more polished as a runner and has had success in Klayton Adams' scheme.
Really good get for Dallas.
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