The Dallas Cowboys have spent a lot of money on cornerbacks in recent years. The result was the NFL’s very worst secondary in 2025.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox pointed out as much by singling out the Cowboys’ cornerbacks as the team’s “Biggest Weakness” headed into the start of training camp on Tuesday.
“As good as the Cowboys were at passing the ball in 2025, they were equally bad at stopping opposing passers,” Knox wrote on July 27. “The Dallas defense ranked dead-last in both passing yards allowed and net yards per pass attempt allowed. While the defense may be a bit better overall this season, the cornerback room might not. DaRon Bland has been a difference-maker when healthy, but he battled foot injuries last season that eventually led to surgery. Free-agent addition Cobie Durant was a solid starter with the Los Angeles Rams, but the depth behind him and Bland is questionable. Shavon Revel Jr. allowed an opposing passer rating of 126.1 last season, while rookie fourth-rounder Devin Moore is unproven. The caveat here is that rookie safety Caleb Downs has the tools and traits to be an instant star, and he could bolster the cornerback group as a full-time nickel back.”
The Cowboys are paying a king’s ransom for Bland to be average — or just not be there at all. He signed a 4-year, $90 million contract before the 2025 season but has missed 17 games due to injuries over the last 2 seasons.
Daron Bland’s Production Saw Dramatic Dropoff
Bland had 14 interceptions in 2022 and 2023 but has just 1 interception over the last 2 seasons. It’s a stretch in which he’s missed 17 regular-season games due to injuries.
Still, somehow, Bland received votes on ESPN’s annual Top 10 position rankings list released on July 7.
In ESPN’s annual roster rankings, the Cowboys’ secondary was singled out as their biggest weakness headed into 2026.
“Dallas doesn’t have many major problem areas, so an unproven cornerback room is the biggest red flag,” ESPN’s Mike Clay wrote on July 7. “This area must be better after the Cowboys finished last in defensive EPA, allowed a 58.4 QBR (29th) and generated only six INTs in 2025. DaRon Bland battled injuries in 2025 but remains the clear star of this group. Ex-Rams Cobie Durant and Derion Kendrick were added this offseason and will battle second-year man Shavon Revel Jr. (last among CBs in PFF grade in 2025), fourth-round rookie Devin Moore and others for starting roles.”
Daron Bland Called NFL’s ‘Most Overpaid Player’
Bland seems headed down that same path as Diggs, which is why Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put him at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Most Overpaid Players” after the critical phase of the 2026 free agency cycle — although he wasn’t the only one on the roster to catch a stray.
“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 in March. “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.”
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 10 games in 2024 with a stress fracture and season-ending foot surgery cost him the last 5 games in 2025.
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