'How Can I Get Better?' Cowboys' DaRon Bland Climbs Quinn 'Takeaway Wall'
The Dallas Cowboys had numerous contributors on defense last season, but none more surprising than rookie cornerback DaRon Bland. With the Cowboys having a revolving door at the position due to injuries, it was the fifth-round pick out of Fresno State who stepped up to make the spot his own.
After playing 19 games (started 10, including both playoff games), Bland led the Cowboys in interceptions with five as he announced himself as a potential starter.
Now, as padded practices get underway in Oxnard, what has been Bland's biggest focus this offseason?
“Just looking back on last season, seeing what I can get better at,” Bland said. “Sometimes I was using more instincts than anything, sometimes my mind speed, trying to improve based on my last year.”
Improving off a previous season is any player's goal, and for Bland, the defense, led by Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs and DeMarcus Lawrence, is considered one of the better units in the league, so improving means good things for the Cowboys.
With one training camp already under his belt in his rookie season (in which he showed flashes of his talent), Bland is using his experiences throughout the year to build a foundation in Oxnard that will benefit him heading into the season.
"Definitely a huge boost getting one year under your belt,” Bland said. “Coming to now, actually having to be the starter, playing so many games, got all that experience from last season to base off of, so it's been good.”
Leading the Cowboys in interceptions is no mean feat, considering Diggs is also a part of the secondary, but that is exactly what Bland did.
His crowning moment was a two-interception game against the Indianapolis Colts in a 54-19 win for the Cowboys.
Bland would end the season with five picks (and a place on Dan Quinn's "takeaway wall), which was two more than Diggs, but he thinks he left some out on the field.
“I don’t know, I’ll say two or three,” Bland said of the picks he could've had. “I’m hoping for a bigger jump (from five).''
With Bland putting forth a good body of work in his rookie campaign, the next step is to again produce it consistently. With Stephon Gilmore now coming into the room to partner with Diggs, Bland will have two stars to learn from
And that bodes well going forward for a player that burst onto the scene last year and who has every intention of staying there.
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