There are still plenty of questions to be answered for the Dallas Cowboys defense here in 2026, after it was steamrolled in Week 1 against the Giants and got a bit fortunate in Week 2 against the Commanders because of Jayden Daniels’ elbow injury. The pass rush has been unimpressive, the safeties are banged up and, maybe most worrisome, the gambles they took in the cornerback room do not appear to be paying off. That starts with star former All-Pro DaRon Bland.
Bland has battled foot injuries in each of the past two years since his scintillating nine-interception performance in 2023. It’s still not clear whether he is battling those foot issues still, but it has become obvious that opposing quarterbacks are not afraid to throw his way in the first two weeks. He’s been targeted 12 times thus far and has allowed eight receptions.
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Bland has not been consistently burned, but the numbers do show that, so far, he is not exactly striking fear in the hearts of opposing QBs. And considering he is playing on a $90 million contract he signed in August 2025. The Cowboys are paying Bland like a top cornerback. But he’s not really seen as such across the league right now.
For Blake Elliott of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Bland is not showing enough.
He has been getting “picked on” a bit too much.
Said Elliott: “I felt like DaRon Bland was getting targeted the most out of everyone. It felt like a good amount of times, these downfield throws, the intermediate, it’s like, man, Bland’s the closest guy. You would think Bland is their best corner. I am going to try to stay away from him.”
DaRon Bland Not Feared by QBs
But that is not what has been happening. Both Jaxson Dart and Daniels were not afraid to throw Bland’s way, and that is a concern for a Cowboys team that invested significantly in Bland.
Bland has logged a Pro Football Focus grade of 62.7, which is 44th among 96 graded corners in the league.
Elliott continued: “It felt like, man they’re going at Bland again. They’re going at Bland again, Bland again. He had the pass break-up he had some nice plays. But when you see your best corner, he is not usually involved in as many plays because he is your best corner, the quarterback is not going to him as much. They got no problem picking on DaRon Bland, Shavon Revel, Cobie Durant. They all had their moments.
“But for DaRon Bland, the money you are paying him to be a Top 10 corner, he sure does get picked on a lot.”
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