I've talked up (and drafted) Javonte Williams lately, but it sounds like I should tamp the brakes a little. Fifth-round rookie Jaydon Blue merits a close look in the preseason.
Not too long ago there was a report from a former Cowboys coach that Blue's work habits were being questioned. Either that information was faulty, or Blue has shaped up in a hurry. There's been nothing but praise out of camp this week, and he was apparently getting some first-team reps in practice. So it's possible there will be a camp battle after all.
Blue worked in a committee backfield at Texas, never putting up big rushing numbers (730 yards last year). But he was an active receiver, catching 42 passes for 368 yards in 15 games. He also caught almost as many touchdowns (6) as he ran for (8).
A year ago, among all the running backs who ran for at least 700 yards, only nine caught more passes than Blue did. (Table shows the top 40 in this regard, and I've bolded the guys currently on NFL rosters, hoping to make an impact this season. There's kind of a lot of them, highlighting that these guys have a market in the NFL.)
2024 LEADING COLLEGE RUSHERS (700+ YARDS), W/RECEIVING | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | No | Rec | TD | Run | TD |
LeQuint Allen | Syracuse | 64 | 521 | 4 | 1021 | 16 |
Dean Connors | Rice | 62 | 485 | 2 | 780 | 9 |
Darius Taylor | Minnesota | 54 | 350 | 2 | 986 | 10 |
Mario Anderson | Memphis | 52 | 312 | 3 | 1362 | 18 |
Desmond Reid | Pitt | 52 | 579 | 4 | 966 | 5 |
Woody Marks | USC | 47 | 321 | 0 | 1133 | 9 |
Elijah Young | Western Kentucky | 47 | 384 | 2 | 883 | 3 |
Cam Skattebo | Arizona State | 45 | 605 | 3 | 1711 | 21 |
Tre Wisner | Texas | 44 | 311 | 1 | 1064 | 5 |
Jaydon Blue | Texas | 42 | 368 | 6 | 730 | 8 |
Nicholas Singleton | Penn State | 41 | 375 | 5 | 1099 | 12 |
CJ Campbell | Florida Atlantic | 40 | 466 | 3 | 844 | 11 |
Brashard Smith | SMU | 39 | 327 | 4 | 1332 | 14 |
Quali Conley | Arizona | 39 | 245 | 1 | 745 | 8 |
Omarion Hampton | North Carolina | 38 | 373 | 2 | 1660 | 15 |
Isaac Brown | Louisville | 30 | 152 | 1 | 1173 | 11 |
Micah Bernard | Utah | 30 | 150 | 2 | 1009 | 4 |
Lee Beebe | UAB | 30 | 219 | 1 | 884 | 7 |
Ollie Gordon | Oklahoma State | 29 | 179 | 1 | 880 | 13 |
Tahj Brooks | Texas Tech | 28 | 199 | 1 | 1505 | 17 |
Jeremiyah Love | Notre Dame | 28 | 237 | 2 | 1125 | 17 |
Jamal Haynes | Georgia Tech | 28 | 166 | 3 | 944 | 9 |
Caden Durham | LSU | 28 | 260 | 2 | 753 | 6 |
Anthony Hankerson | Oregon State | 27 | 151 | 0 | 1082 | 15 |
TreVeyon Henderson | Ohio State | 27 | 284 | 1 | 1016 | 10 |
Raheim Sanders | South Carolina | 27 | 316 | 2 | 881 | 11 |
Jordan James | Oregon | 26 | 209 | 0 | 1267 | 15 |
Braydon Bennett | Coastal Carolina | 25 | 188 | 2 | 781 | 11 |
Gavin Williams | Northern Illinois | 25 | 140 | 1 | 749 | 4 |
Devin Neal | Kansas | 24 | 254 | 1 | 1266 | 16 |
Ismail Mahdi | Texas State | 24 | 195 | 2 | 991 | 4 |
George Pettaway | James Madison | 24 | 200 | 2 | 980 | 5 |
Ashton Jeanty | Boise State | 23 | 138 | 1 | 2601 | 29 |
Bhayshul Tuten | Virginia Tech | 23 | 81 | 2 | 1159 | 15 |
Jonah Coleman | Washington | 23 | 177 | 0 | 1053 | 10 |
Demond Claiborne | Wake Forest | 23 | 254 | 2 | 1049 | 11 |
Seth McGowan | New Mexico State | 23 | 277 | 3 | 823 | 3 |
Kaleb Johnson | Iowa | 22 | 188 | 2 | 1537 | 21 |
Rahsul Faison | Utah State | 22 | 99 | 0 | 1109 | 8 |
Lots of players on this list catch the eye. Las Vegas' Ashton Jeanty is already a first-round pick in early fantasy drafts. Jacksonville's Bhayshul Tuten is a guy I'm taking in some drafts, hoping he emerges in Jacksonville. Omarion Hampton with the Chargers, Cam Skattebo in New York, Kaleb Johnson in Pittsburgh, TreVeyon Henderson in New England; those guys could start or at least be 1Bs. And a couple of backups (Brashard Smith in Kansas City, Tahj Brooks in Cincinnati, Devin Neal in New Orleans, Woody Marks in Houston) might be No. 2s on those teams. Lots of fun rookies to draft.
But Blue is also in that group, and based on this week's reports, he'll be moving up in drafts. And I'll be selecting Javonte Williams with a little less enthusiasm.
--Andy Richardson