Nine seasons, five stints on the injured reserve, two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, a dislocated ankle and probably more soft tissue lesions than he would like to recount later, Ronald Darby remains assured in his ability to lock an opposing wide receiver down.
“I’ve always been able to play,” Darby told Jaguars Wire. “My biggest thing was, you know, getting hurt.”
Darby’s March signing with the Jaguars marked his fifth move across the NFL and fourth since 2020, when he last played a full season.
But no matter the injury, the competition he faced or the scheme he had to learn — “I done played in almost all of them,” he said, “from the zone ones to the man ones to the cover zero ones” — Darby typically found a way to establish himself as one of the league’s better covers.
“As long as I’m able to run, move — you know, each year I learn and I just get better,” Darby expressed. “It’s like, I’ve been doing this for a long time.”
He has, and he’s right.
Per Pro Football Reference, Darby’s 44.2% coverage completion percentage with Baltimore in 2023 was not only his career-best in seasons he played 10 or more games; it led all qualifying NFL coverage defenders.
Darby’s 2022 performance with Denver was even more dominant, albeit finite.
Over four and a half games before tearing his ACL, Darby allowed just seven receptions over 18 targets (38.9%), per PFR. He gave up no more than 20 receiving yards in a single game.
Working back from a ruptured knee ligament proved easier the second time for Darby than the first.
Darby was a member of Philadelphia’s 2018-19 Super Bowl squad under head coach Doug Pederson, but he didn’t appear in a game after Week 10 after suffering his first torn ACL. He played in Week 1 the next season, but strained his hamstring in Week 4 and his hip in Week 16.
He went unsigned in free agency until 10 months after his second ACL tear, when Baltimore coveted an experienced player after starting cornerback Marlon Humphrey endured a foot injury last August.
“To be honest, it wasn’t [a challenge] when I signed with Baltimore. I was, like, eight months out of my surgery,” Darby explained.
“But me going through my first one, I knew what I had to do for my second one, and I got on it early. I was doing two-a-days, like rehab, and I was doing a lot of running, so I knew how to come back from it a lot faster.”
Despite learning a new defense three weeks before the season, Darby logged 69 defensive snaps with the Ravens in Week 1, fifth-most on the team.
If not for a Week 18 illness, Darby would have appeared in every game last year. He took the field for 624 total snaps in 2023, his third-most in a regular season since 2018.
Darby fared particularly well against star wide receivers throughout the campaign.
Per Pro Football Focus, Darby held San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel to one catch for nine yards over two targets; Miami’s Tyreek Hill two-of-four for 17 yards; Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins a combined two-of-five for 15 yards with two pass breakups; and Houston’s Nico Collins’ zero-of-two with a pass breakup in the playoffs after Collins went three-of-five for 46 yards against him in Week 1.
While he was limited to 48 of 67 possible appearances over the last four seasons, with three different teams in that span, Darby never allowed a year-long completion percentage higher than 54.3% (ranking No. 27 of 274 coverage defenders in 2021).
Some observers ding Darby for not intercepting a pass in that same stretch. However, his 32 defended passes since 2020 rank No. 28 among the 247 cornerbacks who have recorded at least one.
All but two players on the list in front of Darby have appeared in more games. Eight have appeared in at least 20 more.
Jacksonville managed to add Darby on a two-year contract with a $4.25 million average annual value. If he can remain healthy and perform as he has in recent years over a full season in 2024, the deal could end up a steal for the Jaguars.
“I just go out there and work,” said Darby. “You know, this [is] Year 10 for me. Like, I’ve been making plays. You don’t make it to Year 10 not being able to play. So I just go out there and do what I gotta do, like I do all the time.”
Pederson, now the Jaguars’ head coach, desired to reconnect with Darby this offseason as part of Jacksonville’s effort to strengthen its roster with established veterans; players who have been there, done that and can help the Jaguars battle through adversity to reach their goals.
This year, they entail a return to the postseason — and ideally a playoff run — after Jacksonville lost its grip on seeding in the AFC bracket in Week 18 of the 2023 campaign, following a 1-5 slide to end the season.
Darby is one of five free agents Jacksonville signed with at least six games worth of playoff experience, joined by center Mitch Morse (13), defensive lineman Arik Armstead (12), wide receiver Gabe Davis (seven) and safety Darnell Savage (seven) in that department.
“With Ronald, a veteran guy, he comes in here competing for that spot and just really embracing the opportunity. But at the same time, being able to lead because we got some young guys at the corner position,” Pederson detailed in June.
“Being able to I think show them how to practice, how to study, how to prepare, are all things that guys like that really bring to us.”
Darby is expected to start opposite freshly extended cornerback Tyson Campbell, with safeties Andre Cisco and Antonio Johnson returning and Savage expected to occupy the nickel cornerback position in Jacksonville’s revamped secondary.
And while he understands his influential role, Darby is convinced Jacksonville’s roster features plenty of similarly capable players.
“I know what it takes,” Darby said. “Like, I’ve been there. Even last year, [Baltimore] made it to the AFC Championship. I just know what it takes.
“You know what you gotta do throughout the year. You’ve got to stay focused and go out there and just compete, really. Just have fun and compete. We’ve got a lot of guys that like to compete, so it’s gonna be good.”