'Explosive' Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue compared to Detroit Lions superstar

The Dallas Cowboys selected Texas running back Jaydon Blue with a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft this past weekend, adding a much-needed body to a unit that was short on talent.

Of course, there is typically little fanfare or expectation that comes along with a fifth round pick, unless their name is Shedeur Sanders.

However, according to Lions running backs coach Tashard Choice, who coached Blue in Austin, the former Longhorn could have a chance to be as good as one of the NFL's best, telling Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com that he compares favorably to his own back, Jahmyr Gibbs.

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"They're very similar," Choice told Yarrish. "Both are very explosive, make plays out of the backfield, and very smart. I think Blue is very, very smart, I think (Jahmyr Gibbs) is the smartest running back I've ever coached."

Obviously, that is a lofty comparison to say the least.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs runs the ball during the third quarter against the Washington Commanders | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Last season, Gibbs was one of the most productive running backs in the NFL, rushing for 1,412 yards and 16 scores, while catching 52 passes for 517 yards and four more touchdowns, totaling 1,929 yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns. Due to that production, Gibbs helped the Lions go 14-2 and win the NFC North while earning his second Pro Bowl invite in two years in the league.

Of course, Choice knows Blue has a lot of work to do to reach that kind of level.

"He's got to live up to being Jah, Jah is an animal," Choice said. "And so he's going to have to perform and perform at a high clip so that can be comparable. So now he's got to prove himself to see who he is in the NFL."

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But the comparisons don't stop there either, Gibbs was seen as more of a scat back or change of pace option for most of his time in college, and standing 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, he wasn't expected to be a player who could necessarily handle a bell cow role. Only, that's exactly what he did, thanks to his speed, his quickness, and his underrated ability to break tackles.

Blue is seen in a similar light to Gibbs coming out of the draft, in terms of being the change-of-pace option. That said, he stands three inches taller than Gibbs at 6-feet-tall, and likewise weighs in at 200 pounds, with a chance to add weight this offseason as the Cowboys workouts begin.

And based on what Choice said about Blue's traits himself, it seems as though he believes he can do just that, and eventually become the kind of difference maker Gibbs has in Detroit.

Texas Longhorns running back Jaydon Blue evades a tackle from Clemson Tigers safety Khalil Barnes | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Super, super fast and really good in space, and can catch the ball out of the backfield, can run routes, he's very smart," Choice said. "Him being put into space with his speed, and his stop and start, and able to make people miss in the open field, I think that's what makes him really, really good."

"He's strong enough to break out of tackles and he accelerates very fast, and once he gets in the open field, if you ain't close to him, you're not catching him."

Only time will tell if Blue can live up to those loft expectations in Dallas. But if he can, the Cowboys could have something special on their hands.

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