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NFL draft: Sixteen Day 3 picks who could compete for starter snaps as rookies – Chad Reuter, NFL.com
The Cowboys have a lot of room to get creative in how they utilize fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue, a running back from Texas.
Most players selected on the third day of the NFL draft (when Rounds 4 through 7 are held) are typically expected to contribute as reserves and/or special teamers in Year 1.
Last season, 11 of 157 Day 3 selections started eight or more contests, up one from the 2023 draft class but down from 16 in 2022. Linebacker Tyrice Knight (Round 4, Seahawks), guard Mason McCormick (Round 4, Steelers), cornerback Tarheeb Still (Round 5, Chargers) and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders (Round 4, Panthers) were among those 11 after being listed here last May. Tanor Bortolini (Round 4, Colts), receiver Troy Franklin (Round 4, Broncos), corner Decamerion Richardson (Round 4, Raiders), Chau Smith-Wade (Round 5, Panthers) were other players I included in this article last year who contributed significantly during their first year.
A rookie’s talent is certainly a factor in how often he sees the field at the next level, but injuries to veterans and positional-group depth often determine draftees’ playing time. Here are 16 Day 3 picks from the 2025 NFL Draft who could get regular starts during their first season, ranked in order of the likelihood they will get the opportunity:
Rank 1
Jaydon Blue
Texas · RB
Drafted: Round 5, No. 149 overall
The Cowboys might begin the year with starting reps going to veteran backs Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders, but Blue should have a chance to be the guy for the Blue-and-Silver by midseason. The Texas product’s home run-hitting ability as a runner and receiver makes it imperative that he’s on the field.
Jaydon Blue could be a missing piece to help the Cowboys’ receiving woes – Connor Livesay, Blogging The Boys
The Dallas passing offense needs to find more easy completions, yet another area Blue can help right away out of the backfield.
Blue, a running back out of Texas, could push for starting time at running back for the Cowboys, but his impact as a receiver is currently flying under the radar. In his final season at Texas, Blue impacted the game as a runner, but also as a threat in the passing game. In 2024, Blue hauled in 42 receptions for 368 yards and six touchdowns.
Blue was one of the best route runners in this class at the receiver position showing a consistent ability to beat man coverage and find soft spots in zones to pickup chunk yardage in the Longhorns passing game. The Cowboys struggled to get running backs involved in the passing game under Mike McCarthy, but Brian Schottenheimer has talked a lot this offseason about how he wants the Cowboys running backs to impact the passing game.
Even with a quality receiving back in Blue on the roster, the Cowboys need more out of the receivers behind CeeDee Lamb in order to make a push at the playoffs in 2025. The WR2 position is still one of the biggest holes on the Cowboys roster, but Jaydon Blue can, and should, ease some of the concern with the impact he can bring as a receiver out of the backfield.
Depth Chart: How the RB room looks following the draft – Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys have added some much needed speed and experience to their backfield as well this offseason, with Blue, Miles Sanders, and Javonte Williams.
Trait-Mark: At running back, there are a lot of traits that make up a great runner, but one the Cowboys were obviously looking for this offseason was speed. And when it came to the NFL Draft, Jaydon Blue had more speed than just about anyone. His 4.38 time was the second-fastest 40-time of any running back in the draft. He gives the Cowboys a speed-element at running back they haven’t had since Tony Pollard, and even he didn’t possess the track-speed quality they have now with Blue.
Don’t Forget About … While the Cowboys are looking to re-establish the running game, they probably will ask these guys to catch the ball as well. Both Sanders and Williams have caught 50 passes in a season with other teams, and Blue was electric out of the backfield for Texas, catching two touchdown passes in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Cowboys are looking for more than just “runners” in the running back room.
‘I feel disrespected’ – Dallas Cowboys undrafted rookie is on a mission to prove the NFL messed up by not drafting him – Maurcio Rodriguez, A to Z Sports
The depth chart at WR is wide open for the Cowboys, and UDFA Traeshon Holden is ready to take advantage.
Undrafted free agent wide receiver Traeshon Holden knew he wanted to sign with the Dallas Cowboys for two reasons.
Firstly, it was an opportunity to reunite with his Oregon position coach, Junior Adams, who joined Brian Schottenheimer’s coaching staff earlier in the offseason. Secondly, even Holden knows about the Cowboys’ wide receiver needs.
“That was another reason why I decided to come, too,” Holden told reporters at rookie minicamp. “They didn’t draft a guy. I feel like I was one of the best receivers, and now I get to show everybody that I am.”
Holden, a 6-foot-2 target with physicality, says he carries a chip on his shoulder after seeing 257 players be drafted and not him. He feels it “everyday.” Though he considers himself a hard-worker already, he told the media he’s ramping it up as a result of going undrafted as he tries to make NFL teams regret not picking him.
“I’ve always been the type to just work hard, but I feel disrespected,” Holden said. “So now it’s time to make it happen.”
This offseason and preseason, Holden will be looking to earn a spot on the Cowboys roster despite going undrafted. To do so, he’ll have to be crafty once training camp kicks off. For many analysts, it was his lack of speed that cost him the opportunity of hearing his name called at the 2025 NFL Draft.
Is the 2025 season Mazi Smith’s last chance? – Richard Paolinelli, Inside The Star
The Cowboys have finally added some real competition for Mazi Smith at DT by drafting Jay Toia and Tommy Akingbesote.
Dallas has long struggled to stop the run. That weakness has cost them far too many games.
Especially the last playoff game the Cowboys played in when Green Bay plowed through the defense at will.
Dallas has one solid defensive tackle in Osa Odighizuwa. They just rewarded the 27-year-old with a massive four-year, $52 million contract.
But what the Cowboys lacked was a legitimate run-stuffer up the middle.
They’d hoped to have addressed that need in the 2023 draft with the first-round selection of Mazi Smith.
Smith’s rookie season was dismal. His sophomore season only slightly better. In his defense, he’s had two different defensive coordinators in his first two years.
The first, Dan Quinn, made him lose 30 pounds.
Kind of hard to stuff the run when you barely outweigh your team’s strong safety. Smith will have his third defensive coordinator this year.
He’d better hope that Matt Eberflus helps him find that “player-‘get’s-it’-in-his-third-year” switch this summer.
Because the Cowboys may have drafted his replacement. Said replacement could even take away Smith’s hold on the fourth starting lineman on the defense too.
In the seventh round of last month’s draft, Dallas grabbed UCLA defensive tackle Jay Toia.
This is what a run-stuffer looks like. The knock on Toia was he wasn’t as strong on the pass rush. Frankly, I don’t care about that aspect of his game.