Will Javonte Williams or Jaydon Blue Start in the Cowboys' Backfield for Fantasy Football?

After reaching at least 12 regular-season wins for three consecutive seasons, the Dallas Cowboys took a step back with a 7-10 record in 2024. An inefficient rushing attack that had the sixth-lowest rush-play rate and third-fewest yards per rushing attempt at 4.0 were major flaws.

Paired with wholesale coaching changes, the Cowboys looked to revamp the offense. The passing attack could improve with the addition of a quality WR2 in George Pickens, but the moves in the running back room felt underwhelming as Dallas signed veterans Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders while spending a fifth-round draft pick on Jaydon Blue.

Even with the backfield lacking star power, this is still another chance for fantasy football managers to acquire value by landing a starting running back on an offense that's usually productive when Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are healthy.

Between Williams and Blue, who is in the driver's seat to take the bulk of touches?

Note: All ADPs (average draft position) mentioned in this article come from FantasyPros' Consensus ADP for half-PPR leagues.

Fantasy Football: Dallas Cowboys Backfield

Williams and Sanders bring in valuable experience but neither piece is going to blow your socks off. In fact, both players seem to be on the decline.

For example, Sanders totaled 1,269 rushing yards and finished as RB13 in half-PPR leagues in 2022. Since, he's averaged a measly 318.5 rushing yards per season.

Williams returned from a major knee injury by posting 774 rushing yards in 2023, but his production declined to 513 rushing yards a season ago. Similar to Sanders, Williams had his chances of becoming the lead back in an underwhelming room, and he only faltered with declining numbers.

Blue is the wrench that's thrown into the equation. If any tailback is generating hype for the Cowboys, it's the explosive rookie. His scouting report highlighted Blue's big-play ability with a 4.38-second 40-yard dash while being a major threat as a receiver.

Similar to the 2024 season, Dallas seems sold as a running back by committee approach. However, as the 2024 season progressed, Rico Dowdle emerged as the feature back. Attempting to find the next Dowdle is what we all could use, but I'm not sure if any of these pieces contain that kind of upside (RB22 in 2024).

Will anyone emerge as the top back for the Cowboys?

Javonte Williams or Jayden Blue: Which Cowboys RB Should You Draft?

Sanders has simply been thrown to the side by most, likely due to his deflating production over the last two seasons. Williams could have a better case of returning to his peak considering he's now over two years removed from a torn ACL.

Due to his speed and Tony Pollard comparisons, Blue has been circled as the main threat to Williams' usage rate.

Frankly, I do not think this knowledge is flawed. Williams still posted some decent efficiency in 2024, including 3.68 yards created per touch (19th), per PlayerProfiler. Sanders was far behind this with only 3.42 yards created per touch a year ago, and he played in only 11 games while Williams has appeared in at least 16 in back-to-back campaigns.

Between the two vets, Williams is simply the most trustworthy option right now. According to FantasyPros' ADP, Williams has an ADP of 112.3 while Blue has a 136.7 ADP and Sanders carries an ADP of 215.0.

These numbers regurgitate our exact thought process: this battle should come down to Blue and Williams.

For now, I'm more comfortable taking Williams. We've seen upside in his game -- especially before a major knee injury.

Blue feels like an unknown across the board. He missed two weeks of time from a bruised ankle/foot injury and is finally making his debut in Friday's preseason finale. Blue was a rotational back in college, failing to ever reach 750 rushing yards in a season. He has promising traits, but there are too many unknown factors to bank on Blue controlling this workload -- especially with an injury setback only leading to even more concerns.

Futures Day is coming August 26th. Learn more here.

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