It’s not hard to make a case that Daron Bland is one of the most important players for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025. His success, or lack thereof, will likely determine how well the Cowboys perform this season, given the uncertainty surrounding him in the secondary.
Trevon Diggs will likely miss at least the first month of the season, and Shavon Revel and Josh Butler are both recovering from torn ACLs. Even a player like Caelen Carson is recovering from a significant shoulder injury, and it remains to be seen how limited he will be to start the season.
With the loss of Jourdan Lewis in free agency, the Cowboys are expected to move Bland to the slot in some packages. That is a fascinating move considering Bland is the only healthy and established cornerback on the roster. But after an injury-riddled 2024 season, where does Bland rank among his peers at the cornerback position? And are the Cowboys expecting too much from a former fifth-round pick from Fresno State?
In a recent article by John Kosko of Pro Football Focus, he ranked the top 32 cornerbacks in the NFL heading into the 2025 season. At the very bottom of the list was Daron Bland, who came in at No. 32.
DaRon Bland's importance to the Cowboys goes beyond PFF's CB rankings
It’s worth mentioning that no other Cowboys made the list, but Jourdan Lewis did appear at No. 28. Here is why the site is lower on Bland than the rest of the national media going into the year:
"Bland missed the first 10 games of the 2024 season due to injury after a 2023 campaign in which he broke the NFL record for pick-sixes. His PFF advanced coverage grade wasn’t great, even though his standard PFF coverage grade over the past two seasons ranks sixth. His 71.4 PFF coverage grade in 2024 was solid, but he failed to log an interception after his record-breaking season. 2025 should be a good indicator of whether Bland can continue his playmaking ways."John Kosko, Pro Football Focus
Bland has always been a big-play merchant, and he’s been that way from the moment he stepped onto the NFL field. He has 14 career interceptions in just 41 games, and it’s worth mentioning that he had a forced fumble/fumble recovery last year against Tampa Bay that sealed the win.
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The concern for Pro Football Focus is that when Bland isn’t recording an interception, his overall coverage metrics are average. In that, he’s not too dissimilar from Diggs, who also relies on takeaways to mask some of his coverage flaws.
But the biggest difference from these two players is that Bland is a much better tackler, and his ability to play in the slot makes him extremely versatile.
There is no doubt that the 2025 season is a big one for Daron Bland. With another Pro Bowl-caliber season, he could be among the highest-paid defensive players in the league next offseason. But another “down” year and teams might end up viewing his record-setting 2023 season as a fluke and pass on giving him a monster contract.
Dallas desperately needs Bland to get back to that level if they want to improve on defense. His performance this season will be an excellent harbinger for the team’s overall success in 2025.