Cowboys’ Running Back Depth Chart Behind Javonte Williams Unfolds Into a High-Stakes Battle Fans Can’t Ignore.QQ
While the majority of the issues that the Dallas Cowboys have faced through eight weeks of the season have come on the defensive side of the ball, don’t be surprised if some of the big “changes” that head coach Brian Schottenheimer talked about on Monday also come in some areas on offense.
When asked about rookie running back Jaydon Blue and his performance on Sunday against the Broncos (29 rushing yards and one fumble on eight carries), he gave some advice and criticism to the fifth-round pick out of Texas.
“[Jaydon Blue] is a young back learning the speed of the game and the physicality of the game,” Schottenheimer said. “But to me, I’m always going to go back to the consistency. You can’t put the ball on the ground. You have to be on top of your blitz pick-ups. You have to do those things.”
During training camp, Blue emerged as a legitimate option in the running back room and was even earning first-team reps as early as the second week in pads in Oxnard. However, an ankle injury that knocked him out of two preseason games and a continuing issue of “inconsistency” in Schottenheimer’s words kept him behind former backup running back Miles Sanders.
But when Sanders landed on season-ending injured reserve with a knee issue, Blue was elevated to the backup running back role. As a result, Schottenheimer has hoped that some of the professionalism and preparation of starter Javonte Williams would rub off on Blue.
“The big thing I’ve told him about is you’ve got the perfect guy sitting right to your left in Javonte,” he said. “To learn from — who was you a couple of years ago as a young rookie trying to figure it out. Lean on him. Javonte does everything right and so Jaydon’s doing that.”
“I know how hard it was in my rookie year in football and stuff off the field,” Williams said. “Anytime he needs help, I try to help him. I don’t really bother him too much. If he has something he wants to ask me about, I’ll give him pointers. If he needs something, he’ll definitely let me know. He doesn’t need me following him around making sure he’s doing everything right. He’s a grown man at the end of the day.”
However, fourth-year pro Malik Davis has seen two elevations off the practice squad and is creeping through an opening in the door that could see him take some of Blue’s snaps in the coming weeks.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about Malik Davis and the job he’s doing for us,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re all about creating competition. It’s not just creating competition on the defensive side of the ball for jobs and who’s going to play. It’s on offense as well and that would be another battle to watch.”
For Davis, it’s an opportunity that he plans on relishing.
“It means a lot,” Davis said. “I’ve been playing this game since I was a kid. This is what I’ve worked for my whole life. This is just me proving that I belong here and to my teammates that I’m a guy that can help win games.”
After being signed as just a body in the running back room during training camp, Davis strung together a couple of strong preseason performances to find his way back onto the Dallas practice squad where he had been a familiar face from 2022 to 2024.
“I’ve been playing this game my whole life,” he said. “I feel comfortable when I’m out there. Just getting that opportunity to my teammates and to my coaches to say I am who I say I am. I belong to be here.”
