Team news: Dallas Cowboys | Page 4

Jaxon Smith-Njigba plays everywhere. More importantly, he’s targeted from everywhere.

Related players: Cooper Kupp, Tory Horton, Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The author added that there is a notable distinction between lining up everywhere and getting targeted everywhere - "because sometimes you can line up guys everywhere for the sake of calling your players versatile, but they’re not really a threat to the defense," Dugar said. Smith-Njigba took a massive leap in his second season, finishing as the WR8 after a modest WR46 rookie campaign. JSN seized a featured role in the Seahawks’ passing attack, posting 100 catches for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. He's 14th among WRs in our rankings.

Fast forward to the 10th practice of Dallas' training camp on Monday, Javonte Williams is still in pole position and being creatively utilized in 11-on-11 team drills: he lined up on a pass play as the outside wide receiver with wide receiver George Pickens lined up inside in one formation.

Related players: Miles Sanders, Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah

On Monday we posted a story about how Blue has been impressing in camp. In this story, it was another rookie in Mafah who earned comments about his performance so far. This is one of the bigger situations to watch because things seem pretty wide open at the RB position.

“[Tory Horton is] making multiple plays every day,” coach Mike Macdonald said after Saturday’s practice.

Enough to make a climb on the team’s depth chart.

In Saturday’s open practice at Lumen Field, Horton typically worked as the starter in three-receiver sets along with veterans Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp and ahead of veteran free agent signee Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Teammates of Horton have already been impressed and are calling him the "steal of the draft," which is the basis of the story. Our friends at Dynasty League Football have said to target Horton in dynasty league drafts, at least in the middle rounds. As for redraft leagues, he still has some climbing to do on the depth chart to have value in typical leagues, but it's not totally out of the question he could end up passing Kupp, who struggled last year and has been hit with injuries as well. Horton will be someone to keep and eye on in camp and preseason games.

The running back group has been an interesting one to monitor. Javonte Williams entered camp as the probable No. 1 guy. Miles Sanders then started to stand out a little more. With those two being the veterans, they could get the bulk of the touches early in the season. But lately, Jaydon Blue has been standing out more and more.

The story added Blue has been getting some first-team reps, and added when given the opportunity, he’s been taking care of the football, showcasing his speed, athleticism and quality hands. Each day that goes by, Blue appears to be getting more comfortable with the offense and speed of the NFL game, the story went on to say. The scouting report on Blue before and after the draft has been mixed. But, it's hard to imagine Williams and Sanders dominating this backfield all season, so with Blue standing out, it's very possible he starts to get a bigger role as the season goes on. Blue can be had later in drafts and may be a potential sleeper for your roster.

Dontayvion Wicks is not practicing today. Neither, as expected, is MarShawn Lloyd.

Related Players: Josh Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson, Israel Abanikanda

Per Schneidman, HC Matt LaFleur said that it was a pre-contact injury that occurred before a jarring hit. Lloyd logged all of six rush attempts as a third-round rookie last year as he battled a litany of injuries. Things are starting off poorly for the potential RB2 option behind Jacobs, and he should be avoided in drafts until we get a clean bill of health.

Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Jaydon Blue fired back after a former Cowboys assistant fueled rumors that the franchise's fifth-round pick is viewed as "borderline lazy" by the rest of the team. Glenn Smith, who previously worked on the Cowboys' staff from 2000-01, made the claim during a recent appearance on the "Locked on Cowboys" podcast, explaining that some inside the building are frustrated with Blue's work habits.

Related players: Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, Deuce Vaughn, Phil Mafah

The former Texas standout projects to be an immediate factor in the Cowboys backfield this season with a lack of explosiveness elsewhere in the room.

Blue didn't let the criticism go unchecked, posting on social media, "lmao taking time out yo day to make fake article about me for attention," according to the story. Blue is expected to have a big role in the offense this season, especially considering Williams and Sanders are coming off disappointing seasons a year ago and sit above him on the depth chart.

[Glenn] Smith said that coaches with the Cowboys have expressed that Blue is “borderline lazy” and that the team is not thrilled with his work habits. That isn’t a great sign for a fifth-round pick who is not only trying to earn a role on the offense, but also make the roster.

Blue was a part of OTAs and rookie minicamp, but there haven’t been any reports of him working with the first team yet. And this could explain why.

Related Players: Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, Phil Mafah

Mosher later reiterates that Blue could legitimately be fighting for a roster spot here, so the news really couldn't be much worse for the rookie. If Blue can't deliver an impact, we have even more questions for a Cowboys backfield that already looked like one of the weakest in the league. Williams and Sanders have been woefully inefficient over the last couple of seasons, and Mafah was himself a seventh-round selection hoping to lock in a roster spot. We currently have Williams ranked as a mid-tier RB3, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to sniff around on Mafah in Dynasty leagues, where he could be on waiver wires, depending on roster sizes.

A year ago at this time, Dak Prescott was being questioned about a photo that surfaced of him on vacation wearing a walking boot on his right foot. No such injury concerns this year as the Dallas Cowboys franchise quarterback prepares for his 10th training camp.

“I’m healthy,” Prescott said Tuesday from his annual youth football camp. “I’ll be a full-go for camp. I’m healthy. I think soon here I’ll probably get the official sign-off from Doc, but I’m healthy.”

Related Players: Joe Milton, Will Grier

The article goes on to mention Prescott's excitement around his potential connection with newly added George Pickens, which is clearly what we want to hear. Pickens and CeeDee Lamb create the best 1-2 punch we've seen at the quarterback's disposal and could help Prescott return to the heights we saw from him in his near-MVP season of 2023. We currently have him ranked in the middle ground of the league's QB2s, but he will consistently be on the streaming radar in plus matchups.

After a strong offseason, Reynolds is the clear-cut leader for the WR2 job. He arrived with little fanfare as a free agent (one year, $2.8 million), mainly because of a down 2024 with the Broncos and Jaguars. It also was a turbulent year; he suffered arm and head wounds in a shooting.

New Jets coach Aaron Glenn knows Reynolds from their time in Detroit, where the 30-year-old receiver was a solid complementary option. Beyond Garrett Wilson, the Jets lack big-play ability after cutting Davante Adams. Reynolds has separated from Allen Lazard and others.

Related Players: Tyler Johnson, Arian Smith, Malachi Corley

This seems a little surprising, until you look at the rest of the depth chart, that is. With Justin Fields at the helm, we should expect a very run-heavy offense in New York, and even if he loses the job, we would expect more of the same from Tyrod Taylor. Reynolds makes for an interesting stacking partner with Fields, though he's much closer to a fantasy WR5 than a WR2.

Details of the Steelers-Cowboys trade expected to be completed today.

Steelers receive 2026 3rd-round pick and a 2027 5th-round pick.

Cowboys receive WR George Pickens and a 2027 6th-round pick.

Related Players: DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, Robert Woods, Roman Wilson, Pat Freiermuth, CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert, Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Brooks, Ryan Flournoy

With the relative lack of impactful Draft compensation, it's a wonder this didn't get done prior to or during the 2025 NFL Draft, but Pickens is on the move regardless.

For the Steelers, this makes Roman Wilson a little more intriguing as he heads into Year 2, and Freiermuth should see a little bump closer to high-end TE2 consideration.

For the Cowboys, this slightly lowers CeeDee Lamb's potentially astronomical target share, but gives QB Dak Prescott a much more reliable No. 2 option in what was already projected as a pass-heavy offense with Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders making up their backfield. Pickens is now more of a high-end WR3 than a fringe WR4.