Cowboys coach says what fans should keep in mind when it comes to underwhelming season from rookie

I was a little unfair to rookie running back Jaydon Blue in my report card for the Dallas Cowboys' first third of the season. I listed the fifth-round pick as the biggest disappointment on offense and that felt wrong considering he's a Day 3 rookie. He should be allowed time to develop.

However, I listed him for two reasons. Firstly, there haven't been many disappointments for the Cowboys offense, which ranks atop the NFL in EPA/play and many other categories. But mostly, it's the fact that the training camp hype for Blue got out of control and even though I never thought he would emerge as RB1 early in his career, I thought at least he'd have a role.

Through six weeks, however, Blue has seven rush attempts for seven yards. Not great. But Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams provided a message that all fans should keep in mind when it comes to Blue: We haven't seen enough to know exactly who he is in the NFL.

Cowboys OC Klayton Adams says evaluation for Blue is TBD

"It's been a really small sample size because we haven't really gotten to a point in a game yet where we've been able to get him out there on a drive and give him three or four carries in a row," Adams said Thursday. "Or quite frankly, just to give him some space to put him in. So I think that's still TBD. We're certainly going to see as we go just because of the injuries."

It's true. In two games played, the Cowboys haven't had much of a chance to play him. Javonte Williams has been very efficient for the team and has become the "bell cow" of the offense. With last week being a down-to-the-wire game, the team naturally leaned on Williams, their starter. Even the week prior, when the Cowboys held a 20-point lead at the half over the New York Jets, the offense struggled in the second half and punted four times.

As hard as it is for fans to be patient, that's what they should do with Blue right now. It's clear the Cowboys coaching staff didn't think the rookie was ready for gameday, which is why he was a healthy scratch until Miles Sanders suffered a season-ending injury. Reps—which is exactly what Blue needs—will come at a premium for him.

Fortunately, the Cowboys struck gold with Williams in free agency. He remains a Top 10 running back in success rate, yards per attempt, and yards per game. He is playing his best football since tearing his ACL in 2022.

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