Cowboys news: Jaydon Blue ready to put rookie season in the rear view

The Cowboys’ leading rusher is set. Williams did very little on-field work during organized team activities and minicamp. The team knows what they have at No. 1. It’s the No. 2 job that remains up in the air — and there’s no question the Cowboys would prefer that to be Blue.

“I didn’t start off like I should have,” Blue said. “Maybe if it was not practicing the right way or just on a maturity level, I think I wasn’t really there. But just learning from all the vets, having the offseason that I’ve had, I think I’m ready to go.

“Just looking back on the things I didn’t do too well and some of the reasons I wasn’t on the field last year, taking the stuff my coaches were saying and making sure I apply them, whether that’s this offseason or when I’m by myself.”

Blue only had 129 yards and one touchdown on 38 carries in 2025. He didn’t make his debut until Week 5.

“I use it as motivation,” Blue said. “Of course I want to be on the field. But at the same time, I know this is the NFL, so any week things can change. I just want to make sure that this year and upcoming years, that’s not a problem for me.”

Sure, the Cowboys spent their second of two first-round draft choices on Malachi Lawrence, a 3-4 defensive end but potential edge on the nickel. Sure, they spent their third-round draft choice on Jaishawn Barham, an inside linebacker/edge at Michigan with pass rush capability. But these are rookies.

Sure, they spent last year’s second-round draft choice on promising edge Donovan Ezeiruaku, who should be ready for the start of training camp after hip surgery. He did have 45 total tackles and two sacks while starting nine of 17 games last year. And the Cowboys still haven’t given up on 2022 second-rounder Sam Williams, bringing the fifth-year player back on a one-year deal. He had only one sack last year (5 starts in 17 games), coming off his 2024 season-ending ACL tear in training camp. They are still waiting for him to blossom.

So yeah, Gary.

But Gary’s best attribute might just be his ability to play the run. This 2024 Pro Bowler is a sneaky 6-5, 277, the impetus for head coach Brian Schottenheimer to call him a “grown-ass man.” And believe me, if watching video, he’s not out there as a single-minded sack-seeker. He will tackle, evidenced by last year’s 48 total takedowns with the Packers, 7½ for losses. Over his career, Gary has totaled 271 tackles, 46 TFLs and 11 QB hits. There is not a soul in that defensive end room with numbers or history like that.

Now, to me, think DeMarcus Lawrence when we’re talking about Gary, and remember, Lawrence was the Cowboys’ best run-stopping defensive lineman when he was here, yet still a pass-rushing threat, even if his sack numbers weren’t always double-digit. Pressures do count, and last year in Green Bay, Gary had 54 QB pressures, upping his career count to just less than 350. Those 54 would have led the Cowboys in 2025, as Osa Odighizuwa was the leader with 46, and as we know, the Cowboys traded him away to the 49ers for the third-round draft choice they turned into Barham. Next on the pressure list is Kenny Clark, Gary’s former Packers teammate, followed by Ezeiruaku’s 42, which is the reason the Cowboys are hopeful he’ll take the next step in 2026.

Tyler Guyton may win the Cowboys’ left tackle battle in a landslide

Guyton has been Dallas’ starting left tackle for two seasons despite inconsistent play and durability concerns, so it’s not exactly surprising that there’s a gap between him and Thomas and Shelton.

Perhaps he’d be standing on shakier ground if the Cowboys had a stronger alternative, but as Machota noted, the job is Guyton’s to lose as long as he stays healthy.

The former first-round pick missed only two games as a rookie, but shaky blocking and a recurring penalty problem overshadowed much of his season. He committed a whopping 18 penalties, including 12 in pass protection, and ranked 50th among tackles with a 96.0 pass-blocking efficiency, per Pro Football Focus advanced stats.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Guyton’s second year was arguably much worse, as he missed all of training camp with a knee injury. That missed practice time proved crucial, as Guyton once again struggled, allowing more pressures (31) than Year 1 despite playing fewer snaps.

Injuries only compounded the problem. A concussion cost him a game in the middle of the year, and he was later placed on season-ending injured reserve with a high ankle sprain, shelving him for the final seven games.

Guyton hasn’t been unplayable when healthy. But whether it be a pre-snap penalty or a lousy rep in pass pro, he’s developed a knack for derailing promising drives. And yet, Thomas and Shelton may not even make him sweat in Oxnard.

Cowboys vibes are through the roof

I’ll be the first to tell you: I did not like the Schottenheimer hire when it happened. More than anything, I did not like the process. The Cowboys didn’t even interview candidates like Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn, who were on everyone’s radar. Dallas kept its search limited to familiar names, interviewing Kellen Moore and Schottenheimer, with Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier rounding out a surprisingly narrow pool.

But here’s what I do know. Since the moment Schottenheimer took the job, he has made smart decisions. The Klayton Adams hire as offensive coordinator was a home run. Schottenheimer went outside the box to build his offensive coaching staff, and one year later, he did the same thing on the other side of the ball by hiring Christian Parker as defensive coordinator. Parker is a 34-year-old coach who had never been a coordinator before, the same situation Adams was in last year. That goes completely against the Cowboys’ historical pattern of recycling former head coaches into defensive coordinator roles.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The way Schottenheimer has related to his players has also been encouraging. And hey, he led a Top 5 offense in football last season! He oversaw Adams’ overhaul of the Cowboys’ run game. And even though you can still see principles from the Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore eras, Schottenheimer tapped into an old-school offensive style and modernized it. He may be no Sean McVay, but the Cowboys’ offense drew praise around the NFL because of how well designed it was.

And yet…

Vibes are just not going to be enough.