Last year, Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland burst onto the scene in record-setting fashion. While his nine interceptions in 2023 were five short of the NFL season record (set by Dick “Night Train” Lane in 1952), he made the most of them.
Five of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns. In just two years, he’s just under halfway to tying Rod Woodson’s career mark for pick sixes.
Woodson took a dozen seasons to get 12 interceptions returned for a score. At his current pace, DaRon Bland will tie and surpass the record in his fifth season.
In two seasons, Bland has 14 total interceptions. Again, at this pace, he’d catch Paul Krause at 81 career interceptions in his 12th year.
If he wants to reach such lofty heights, he’ll need to put together several similar seasons in a row. He can start this fall with his third NFL season, but his success may be determined by the play of one of his teammates.
DaRon Bland Stepped Up
Bland had started in eight games in the Cowboys backfield in his rookie season. Four of his five interceptions came when he started.
Despite his promising debut season, Bland appeared to have lost his starting job when Dallas signed Stephon Gilmore in the offseason. Bland opened the season with a pick-six against the Giants. Then, after being a backup for the first two games, tragedy struck.
Trevon Diggs suffered an injury during practice before the third game of the season and would not play for the rest of the year.
DaRon Bland stepped into the void Diggs’ injury created, and what followed was instantly etched into Cowboys’ lore.
Bland would intercept eight more passes over the next 15 games, four of them went for touchdowns.
The last of those came against the Washington Commanders with an iconic call by Jim Nantz on a 63-yard return on Thanksgiving Day.
It’s safe to say that Bland’s play was one of the major reasons why the Cowboys won the NFC East last year. This season, he’s hoping he won’t need to carry as big of a load. He might be right.
The Return Of Trevon Diggs
So far, Gilmore remains a free agent. Dallas could still bring him back on another one-year deal, but the Cowboys are banking on Trevon Diggs coming all the way back from his injury.
They’re also counting on Diggs teaming up with Bland to make life miserable for opposing receivers.
If Diggs does come back whole, that just might happen.
In his first three years, Diggs had 17 interceptions, including a league-high 11 in 2021, with two of those returned for touchdowns.
He posted back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons in 2021-22. He only played in two games last season but still managed to pick off a pass against the Jets. Still, if he comes back anywhere close to that form, Bland is going to have a lot of passes thrown in his direction instead.
With DaRon Bland’s ball-hawking tendencies that’s going to give him plenty of chances for more picks, and pick sixes, especially in Mike Zimmer’s new defense.
Mike Zimmer Forcing Adjustments
The one issue Bland might run into with his new defensive coordinator is an opposing mindset.
Most of the Cowboys’ defensive backs prefer to play man defense.
Zimmer? Not so much.
If Mike Zimmer can figure out the best way to mesh his players’ strengths with his defensive philosophy, then both DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs should have solid seasons.
The same holds true for the rest of the Cowboys’ defensive backfield for that matter.
For Bland in particular, he could be well on his way to a Hall Of Fame career. Especially if the man at the other corner is back to his Pro Bowl self in 2024.
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the key for Zim is “use their strengths”, not force them into another defense that weakens them. As some past dcoords have done with the cowboys.
They are certainly a “dynamic duo”, and a major strength of the team.
Off topic but being Night Train Lane was refenced in your article Richard, I thought I would bring up something that stuck with me about him. Apparently, he was abandoned by his birth parents when he was just 3 months old. He was miraculously found, covered in newspaper, in a dumpster where he was left. He certainly made the most of his “second chance”.