The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys.
Mailbag: Late-round rookies you want to see? – Tommy Yarrish & Mickey Spagnola, DallasCowboys.com
A speedy running may be just what the Cowboys ordered with Jaydon Blue.
Besides the top three draft picks, are there one or two other specific rookies you can’t wait to see in camp? Why? – Bryan Scott/Glen Rock, PA
Mickey: Definitely running back Jaydon Blue, selected with the first of two fifth round draft picks. At the Texas Pro Day workout I attended, watched him go 4.28 in the 40. This guy has elite speed. Can’t wait to see him in training camp with the ball in his hands. Can you just imagine Blue at running back with the likes of CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and KaVontae Turpin going three wide, with maybe Jake Ferguson running one of those seam routes up the guy. Hewy, if this was track, this would be some kind of 4x100m relay team right. Now at 5-9, 196, not sure Blue would be a 20-carry guy each game, but man spotting that kind of speed, and with the way he catches the ball out of the backfield, this rookie should be a huge bonus to this offense. Can’t wait to see him in pads.
Tommy: I’m excited to see how Brian Schottenheimer and his staff want to use fifth round pick Jaydon Blue. I’ve covered Blue since his junior season at Klein Cain high school in the Houston area, and he’s always been incredibly explosive. At Texas, it was increasingly apparent that he could be a real mismatch and weapon out of the backfield in the receiving game, so I’m interested to see if the Cowboys look to do the same with him and if they can work on fixing his ball security issues from the past.
Cowboys will be flirting with disaster if they start offseason trade addition – Matthew Schmidt, Sports Illustrated
The jury is out on Kenneth Murray.
The Dallas Cowboys made a veteran addition to their linebacking corps earlier this offseason, swinging a trade with the Tennessee Titans to acquire Kenneth Murray.
Murray is expected to start for the Cowboys in Week 1, which could cause all sorts of problems for a Dallas defense that is aiming to bounce back from a miserable 2024 showing.
A former first-round pick, Murray has definitely not lived up to expectations, which is why he is already on his third team since entering the NFL in 2020.
On paper, his numbers look alright. He registered 95 tackles and 3.5 sacks with the Titans last season, and two years ago, he rattled off 107 tackles and three sacks with the Los Angeles Chargers.
However, a deeper look into Murray’s production reveals that he is not exactly a positive contributor, especially in a major role. He logged a 45.9 overall grade at Pro Football Focus last season, coming in with a paltry 35.0 grade against the run. That ranked 185th out of 189 qualifying linebackers.
It’s not like that was just a one-year thing for Murray, either. In 2023, he posted a 52.1 overall grade and a 48.2 mark against the run. Considering that the Cowboys were gashed for 137.1 rushing yards per game in 2024, which ranked 29th in the league, Murray’s history isn’t exactly comforting.
The problem for Dallas, though, is that it may not have anywhere else to turn. The Cowboys don’t have any other proven option to man Murray’s spot, with 2024 third-round pick Marist Liufau probably representing the best alternative.
Perhaps Dallas can attempt to swing another trade before the start of the regular season, but realistically speaking, it appears that the Cowboys are prepared to go all in with Murray, which could spell disaster for Dallas’ already shaky run defense.
Rashod Bateman: Trade to Cowboys was a possibility, thankful it worked out with Ravens – Josh Alper, NBC Sports
Turns out Dallas was looking to trade for another AFC North wide receiver.
Wide receiver Rashod Bateman signed a three-year contract extension with the Ravens last month, but his return to the team for the 2025 season wasn’t a sure thing earlier in the offseason.
A report in May said the Cowboys looked into trading for Bateman and Bateman confirmed that he was apprised of that interest. That report said the talks didn’t go far, but Bateman said “it was a possibility” that he would be on the move to Dallas before he and the Ravens pivoted to hammering out a new deal.
Bateman said he’s “thankful” that General Manager Eric DeCosta was able to work things out.
“That’s the first thing I told him: I don’t want to go anywhere else. ‘I know you’ve got a lot of stuff to work through and we’ll figure it out when we figure it out,’” Bateman said, via Jeff Zrebiec of TheAthletic.com. “It took time, but it takes time with a lot of people’s contracts. He had a lot of contracts to get done, and maybe more to get done in the future. To be a priority for him in that way is important. He shows he values me.”
The Cowboys eventually looked elsewhere in the AFC North for receiver help and traded for George Pickens, so the Ravens won’t have to deal with him as they try for another division title later this year.
Ranking offseason traded players in terms of situation: Can George Pickens succeed with Cowboys? – Jeff Kerr, CBS Sports
How is Dallas’ trade for Pickens being viewed?
With all the notable trades that occurred this offseason involving veteran players, which players will have the best fit with their new team? Basically, which player and team will get the most out of their acquisition.
6. George Pickens to Cowboys
Pickens is a tremendous talent, yet it remains to be seen if he’ll be any more than that. He’ll be the No. 2 wide receiver in Dallas, a deep-ball wideout as CeeDee Lamb carves up the middle of a defense — so the opportunities will be there.
Dak Prescott is the best quarterback Pickens has ever played with in the NFL and knows how to get the ball downfield, so there will be little excuse for Pickens if he underperforms. For Dallas, trading for Pickens was worth taking the chance on. Can the production match his talent?
