On paper, it seems like the Dallas Cowboys already seem destined to be better on defense than they were in 2025, when they fielded arguably the NFL’s worst defense and missed the playoffs for a 2nd consecutive season.
That they already appear to have improved before the 2026 NFL draft, in which they hold 2 picks in the 1st round, indicates they are at least trying to make smart decisions, which isn’t always a given.
One big clue that’s emerged from the pre-draft process seems to indicate the Cowboys might use 1 of those 1st round picks on a legitimate outside cover cornerback — a decision that might move 1 of their highest-paid players to slot cornerback in $90 million NFL All-Pro DaRon Bland.
“The Cowboys added veteran safety Jalen Thompson from the Cardinals and corner Cobie Durant from the Rams,” ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote on Thursday. “Thompson and Malik Hooker are an acceptable safety duo, but CB is mighty thin. Durant was given a one-year deal worth a maximum of $5.5 million — not guaranteed starter money. Dallas can go for either a nickel corner (to keep incumbent starter DaRon Bland outside) or an outside player (to kick Bland back inside), which is reflected in its predraft visits. The Cowboys brass has met with expected boundary players (Mansoor Delane, Jermod McCoy, Colton Hood) and slots (Avieon Terrell, D’Angelo Ponds, Keionte Scott). The team is going after the secondary.”
DaRon Bland Called NFL’s ‘Most Overpaid Player’
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put Bland at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Most Overpaid Players” after the critical phase of the 2026 free agency cycle — and he wasn’t the only one on the roster who landed in the crosshairs.
Bland signed a 4-year, $90 million contract extension in 2025.
“Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark were also strong candidates with output that doesn’t align with $20-plus million AAVs, but Bland is the clear-cut winner,” Gagnon wrote on March 27. “The 2022 fifth-round pick has one good season under his belt, but that was enough to earn him a four-year, $90 million deal. He’s missed significant time while being consistently rocked in coverage when on the field the last two seasons, all as the sixth-highest-paid corner in the sport.”
Cowboys Gave Bland Massive Contract in 2025
In Bland’s case, the Cowboys paid him 2 years after he was an NFL All-Pro in 2023, and after he’d already shown he was injury-prone. He’s missed 15 regular-season games over the last 2 seasons — the first 10 games in 2024 with a stress fracture and season-ending foot surgery that cost him the last 5 games in 2025.
“(Cowboys) gave Bland a huge extension,” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said after Bland signed in August 2025. “Like $90 million. So, it’s like, ‘Well now that we don’t have to pay Micah Parsons, we have more money to overpay some of the other players on the team.’ I don’t even know if he’s a Top 20 cornerback.”
Bland’s 65.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus ranked him 46th out of 114 eligible players at his position in 2025.
The combined value of the contracts for former cornerback Trevon Diggs and Bland came to approximately $187.6 milion — almost the exact amount the Green Bay Packers paid former Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons after trading for him in 2025.
Cowboys Draft Moves Could Force Position Switch for NFL’s ‘Most Overpaid Player’