The Dallas Cowboys have made some changes to their secondary and could continue down that route.
Last week, the Cowboys traded with the Pittsburgh Steelers for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., putting them in a position to have more stability on the outside with Porter and DaRon Bland starting.
In Dallas’ Week 4 win over the Houston Texans, Porter got some outside reps. Other changes included rookie Caleb Downs playing more at safety. With some concerns about the secondary, more changes could be on the way, and it might affect a long-time starter.
Dallas Cowboys Might Have to Make More Secondary Changes
NFL analyst Greg Cosell appeared on the Ross Tucker Podcast to discuss the Cowboys’ secondary. Cosell called for Dallas to move Bland out of outside corner.
“You know, they’re going to have to make a decision somewhere along the line on DaRon Bland. Obviously, they traded for Joey Porter. He played 25 snaps last week. He’ll obviously play more going forward. But DaRon Bland is not an outside corner in the National Football League, and that shows up more and more with each passing year. And the big change the Cowboys made defensively last week was Caleb Downs did not play in the slot. He became a true safety. He had played in the slot the first three games of the season, and last week he did not. They put (Reddy) Steward in the slot, and by the way, he struggled as well. So, I’m curious to see how they see that as they go forward. Probably not a lot of changes in a short week just because you don’t have time to practice, but I think they’re going to have to make some changes going forward.”
In four games, Bland has racked up 18 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 tackle for loss. He has allowed a passer rating of 129.2.
Pro Football Focus has Bland’s grade at 55.5 overall, ranking 72nd out of 103 eligible cornerbacks. He also has a coverage grade of 57.0 (ranked 62nd) and a run-defense grade of 49.3 (ranked 82nd).
Should the Cowboys Move DaRon Bland to the Slot?
This comes down to how the Cowboys feel about Cobie Durnan being the other starting cornerback. Dallas could also roll with Shavon Revel Jr. on the other side.
Porter will be the clear-cut number one corner on this team. Bland has been exposed a bit by allowing easy completions on the outside.
With his size and skills, Bland is a better fit for the slot. He can handle the speedy receivers and tight ends from there.
Dallas can’t do much about it right now, but with 10 days between Week 5 and Week 6, they can make some changes. Bland might be in the conversation to move from his starting spot to the slot.
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