FRISCO, Texas -- What do you remember about Jaydon Blue's rookie season with the Dallas Cowboys?
At the top of the list is probably how the 2025 fifth-round running back got blisters from his custom cleats that featured Louis Vuitton print on them at a practice that left coach Brian Schottenheimer scratching his head.
"Halfway through practice I saw him laying there, I was like, 'What the hell happened to Blue?'" Schottenheimer said in October. "'Oh, coach, I'm fine. I have blisters.' I was like, 'Oh, shocker. Look at the cool shoes you got.' That's part of what you deal with in young players. And quickly he changed his cleats, and it's amazing the blisters weren't as bad."'
With Miles Sanders out with a knee injury in Week 5, Blue made his debut against the New York Jets after being inactive the first four games of the season. He had four carries for seven yards in the first of four straight games in which he was active.
He then was a healthy scratch for the next eight games. He lost the chance to be Javonte Williams' primary backup to Malik Davis, whom the Cowboys had cut in the spring and brought back later in training camp.
Davis finished as the Cowboys' second-leading rusher (250 yards) behind Williams (1,201) and had a 100-yard game in Week 17, when Williams was out with a shoulder injury.
Blue finished the season with 129 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries. Even when things looked good, there was a strangeness. Blue started the final game of the season and finished with 64 yards on 16 carries against the New York Giants, but he had 76 yards rushing in the first half. He lost 12 yards on his five second-half carries, which was more a product of a stalled offense when Dak Prescott was taken out of the game.
When the season ended, Schottenheimer and Blue had what the coach called a "candid conversation."
"We kind of put it all out there, put all the cards on the table," Schottenheimer said. "He didn't like being inactive, and I was very honest with my opinion of why he wasn't active. So we had some really great conversations. He took that, he ingested it, took it in and he's come back with a great look on his face and a great work ethic."
Blue was never the lead runner in college at Texas, but he was a key part of the Longhorns' offense. He started five of 15 games in his junior year, finishing with 730 yards on 134 carries and eight touchdowns. He also caught 42 passes for 368 yards and six touchdowns.
When the Cowboys picked him, they thought they might have had a Day 3 surprise, but it never transpired.
"I think I didn't start off like I should have," Blue said. "Maybe it wasn't practicing the right way or just on a maturity level, I think I wasn't really there."
Schottenheimer said the difference in Blue during this offseason program has been "night and day." Blue credited the conversation with Schottenheimer and constant feedback from running backs coach Derrick Foster.
"For me, I just think it's just me looking myself in the mirror, like, why I wasn't on the field like I should have last year," Blue said. "Those were the things holding me back and knowing how bad I want to be a part of this offense and how big of a piece I can be for the offense, helped me out a lot."
Williams enters his second season with the Cowboys as the owner of a career-high 1,201-yard season and a new three-year contract worth $24 million and $16 million guaranteed.
He is the unquestioned lead back, but the Cowboys did not add a veteran to the running back group. Davis, Blue and Phil Mafah, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, are the lead contenders.
What will help all three runners is their ability to do something other than running the ball. Davis is the most accomplished special teamer in the group. Blue had some kick return experience, but he and Mafah will have to help on the coverage teams.
Offensively, what excited Schottenheimer -- Blue's speed -- continues to excite him as 2026 begins.
"The intelligence is off the charts. I mean, the guy is football brilliant," Schottenheimer said. "He really is. Obviously, his speed and his explosiveness. He's going to be a huge part of what we want to do, but he's got to continue doing his part, which he's doing right now."
A big part of playing running back is helping Prescott and not just by catching the ball. Williams was an excellent pass protector last season and that's an area where Blue needs to improve.
After the first organized team activity, Prescott spent time throwing passes to Blue. In the second OTA, Blue saw more work in Williams' absence, even lining up wide in certain situations.
"Obviously a guy that came on last year that had some moments, some flashes, but a young guy that's very, very talented," Prescott said. "He's growing. His ears are open. He's listening. And you get the ball in his hands with his speed, with his ability to make people miss, it can be fun. So we've just got to find ways to do that."
Blue looks at what happened -- or didn't happen -- in 2025 as motivation in 2026.
"Of course I want to be on the field, but at the same time I know this is the NFL, so any week things can change," he said. "I just want to make sure that this year and upcoming years that that's not a problem for me."