Tag: daron bland

Cowboys CB DaRon Bland earns bonus for record-breaking season, nearly doubling 2023 salary

From @ToddBrock24f7: The CB earned $759K based on the league’s Performance-Based Pay system, designed to compensate lower-earning players for heavy playing time.

DaRon Bland had an exceptional sophomore season, etching his name in the NFL history books, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl, and being named a first-team All-Pro.

Now he’s getting a substantial financial bonus as a reward, one that nearly doubles his salary for a record-breaking year.

The Cowboys cornerback will receive an extra $759,756 on top of his 2023 salary as part of the league’s Performance-Based Pay program, a fund set up by the Collective Bargaining Agreement to provide extra compensation to lower-earning players who end up seeing heavy playing time.

Bland earned a base salary of $870,000 last season, plus a signing bonus of $76,197. In return, the fifth-round draft pick led the NFL with nine interceptions and established a new all-time record by returning five of them for touchdowns. He started 15 of 17 regular-season games and finished second on the team in defensive snaps, appearing on the field for over 90% of the Dallas defense’s plays.

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Bland’s PBP bonus was among the top 20 in the entire league for the 2023 season.

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Do Cowboys have enough at CB with Diggs, Bland, Lewis?

With Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis the Cowboys have one of the best starting CB units in the NFL. Is it enough? | From @ReidDHanson

Most will agree, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland give the Cowboys one of the NFL’s best one-two punches at cornerback. The ball-hawking tandem of Diggs and Bland is enough to send the shivers up any quarterback’s spine, even if they seem to offer up as many opportunities as they steal.

Looking towards the 2024 season it appears CB is one of the only positions Dallas doesn’t need to seriously address. With needs all over the roster, it’s tempting to ignore CB completely, especially since Dallas went out of their way to re-sign Jourdan Lewis to a 1-year, $2,827,500 this March.

Retaining Lewis means the Cowboys are three-deep at the CB position. Diggs and Bland will man the boundary while Lewis reclaims his role as the top nickel option. Nahshon Wright and Eric Scott both expect to be back in the mix of things in 2024 but neither are assured a roster spot, let alone a viable role in the defensive backfield.

Diggs, Bland and Lewis give the Cowboys a strong trio of starting CBs and as long as they all stay healthy in 2024, there’s no reason to think they won’t be one of the more formidable units in the league. But is it reasonable to expect an injury-free campaign?

The Cowboys know a thing or two about CB injuries. In 2022 major injuries to Anthony Brown and Lewis forced Dallas to dig deep in the well for CB options. It was a major problem late in the season, forcing Dallas to turn to free agents off the street just to survive.

In 2023 a season ending injury to Trevon Diggs forced them to recast their nickel CB, Bland, into a boundary role and push the recovering Lewis back into the top-three.

Over the last two years, the Cowboys have been rewarded by going four-deep in their roster construction. If anything, they learned they need more, not less, at the CB position each year because injuries are seemingly inevitable and consequences have been severe.

The Cowboys should feel great about their starting trio, but their depth should concern everyone. Even if the Cowboys are confident in Wright or Scott, they likely need another option before the season. Whether that option is a veteran insurance policy or a mid-to-late round draft pick, isn’t important, but someone else must still be added to the mix.

It’s a numbers game at CB and right now the Cowboys don’t have enough of them.

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Commanders to host Notre Dame cornerback on top 30 visit

The Commanders to host another cornerback on a pre-draft visit.

The Washington Commanders will soon host another cornerback on a top-30 visit. According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, Washington will host Notre Dame cornerback Cam Hart on a pre-draft visit.

Hart, like Elijah Jones of Boston College, who will also visit Washington, has some high-level traits. While neither are first-round prospects, both are long, athletic corners, something Washington head coach Dan Quinn has always liked.

Hart is 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, and ran the 40 in 4.5 seconds at the 2024 NFL combine. One game that will stand out to evaluators is Notre Dame’s game against Ohio State, where he matched up with Marvin Harrison Jr. and more than held his own. Harrison caught three passes for 32 yards on that day.

Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. have an outstanding history of developing defensive backs, with DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs being the most recent examples. It’s clear the Commanders are looking for help at cornerback in the draft and believe they can find one in the third round or later.

 

Cowboys have cornered the market at just under 8% of 2024 salary cap

The Cowboys are top heavy in their cornerback room, opening the door to help in free agency or the draft. | From @ArmyChiefW3

For a long time, the Cowboys were a struggling secondary when it came to getting interceptions. From 2015 through 2020, they never picked off more than 10 passes in a single season, and doing that only twice in the span. Then, in 2021, All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs did that by himself with his his league-leading 11 picks while the team totaled an amazing 26. 17 of those turnovers came from the cornerback room that season. In 2022, Dallas had 16 interceptions as a team while 2023 added another 17 making it three straight seasons in which Dallas ranked in the top 10 in total interceptions.

Wondering if Dallas can do it again under a new scheme is a valid question with Dan Quinn in Washington and Mike Zimmer taking over the defense and changing the playbook. Another question ishow much depth Dallas really has looking beyond their two projected starters. Five players under contract means the Cowboys have a sneaky need at the position and questions linger after the top two guys. Nonetheless, the current corners in Dallas rival another group for the best-managed room on the roster.

Commanders hire Cowboys secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. as defensive coordinator

Dan Quinn gets his defensive coordinator.

The Washington Commanders are set to introduce new head coach Dan Quinn to the media on Monday. On Sunday night, Quinn and the Commanders were busy locking up his two most important hires at offensive and defensive coordinator.

First, the Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator. Shortly after, Washington found its defensive coordinator, Joe Whitt Jr.

Whitt’s hiring isn’t a surprise, as several reported he was expected to follow Quinn from Dallas to Washington last week. The Cowboys were planning to interview Whitt as Quinn’s replacement on Monday, as he’d be one of four in contention for the vacant Dallas defensive coordinator position.

Whitt Jr. has spent the past three seasons as Dallas’s secondary coach and passing game coordinator. Under Quinn and Whitt’s leadership, the team led the NFL in takeaways with 93, while Buffalo was the next closest team with 80.

Whitt Jr., 45, played college football at Auburn and began his coaching career there in 2000. After spending six seasons at three different colleges, his first NFL opportunity came in 2007 with the Falcons as assistant defensive backs coach.

He moved to Green Bay in 2008 as a quality control coach, but in 2009 became cornerbacks coach, a role he held for the next nine seasons. He was Green Bay’s defensive passing game coordinator in 2018.

In 2019, he took over as Cleveland’s secondary and passing game coordinator, a role he held for one season, and returned to Atlanta in 2020 in the same position.

Whitt Jr. came to Dallas in 2021, reuniting him with Quinn (who hired him in Atlanta) and head coach Mike McCarthy.

Whitt Jr. has overseen the development of some terrific cornerbacks at every stop throughout his NFL career. Dallas cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland led the NFL in interceptions in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Quinn’s press conference is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET Monday.

 

 

The 4 most important 3rd-year players for the Cowboys in 2024

The Cowboys didn’t get a ton out of their rookie class, but these soon-to-be third-year players are tasked with making up the difference. | From @TimLettiero

The Dallas Cowboys are going to have to play the waiting game when it comes to their 2023 draft class. Things didn’t go according to plan with the group, as there was little initial impact from the group of youngsters, which has not been the norm with the club under Will McClay. It was all good the year prior, as the Cowboys have been getting plenty of contributions from the previous haul.

Dallas hit big time in the 2022 draft, and are starting to see the fruits of their labor. With multiple key contributors, some even high-end starters, this class is poised to be central to future championship pushes. Here are the four most important third-year players to watch in 2024.

Cowboys roster ranks 3rd in value; Lamb, Bland make ‘best value’ team

From @ToddBrock24f7: CeeDee Lamb and DaRon Bland were the top values at their respective positions in 2023, while 8 other Cowboys made the top 10 at theirs.

The world-weary cynics within Cowboys Nation firmly believe that, at least to the Jones family, finishing the season strong in dollars and cents is way more important than wins and losses.

On the field, Dallas didn’t make it out of the wild-card round. But financially, the front office finished almost at the top of the league when it comes to the overall value they got out of their players this season.

Spotrac has determined their 2023 Team Value Rankings using scores calculated for each player on the league’s rosters. Individually, a player’s cumulative production is factored against his average annual salary, and the resulting score (out of 100) offers a look at how much bang a player provides for his buck.

Do that for everybody, and it becomes clear which teams make their money work the hardest come gametime.

San Francisco led the NFL with a “True Value Score” (TVS) of 99.56, while Baltimore came in second with 95.11. The Cowboys finished in third place with 91.38. No other team scored in the 90s. (Within the NFC East, Philadelphia finished 16th with 52.48, the Giants were 28th at 16.44, and Washington ended 31st with 6.11.)

Using players’ individual scores, Spotrac also assembled their “Best Value” roster, spotlighting the player with the highest TVS at each position. The Dallas was one of four teams to put two players in the hypothetical starting lineup; eight other Cowboys made the top 10 at their positions.

Here’s a look at who was named the absolute best value at their spot, as well as which players on the team still gave great production at a nice price.

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ESPN+: Prescott is 2023 MVP, 7 Cowboys make Walder’s top-100 ballot

The Cowboys have a ton of talent, and while it clearly doesn’t guarantee results when it matters, it is better than not having any. | From @KDDrummondNFL

ESPN’s Seth Walder is one of the finest analytical minds the football world has to offer. Walder is the face of metrics that help explain the why of what happens, such as pass-block win rates, double-team rates, motion-at-the-snap rates and others. He doesn’t do it by himself, of course, ESPN has a vast network of analytical guys and girls that pour hours into quantifying things beyond the eye test. Hopefully one day their work will be the driving force behind all of the talking-head opinions.

Haha. Still, in looking back on the 2023 regular season — it’s a shame the playoffs were totally cancelled this year and the NFL won’t return until September, right? Right?? — Walder has once again objected to the AP only going five deep when it comes to the MVP award. Instead, he rolls out his ballot that goes all the way to 100. Sitting atop the perch? Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.

Prescott was one of three Cowboys to land in Walder’s top-eight, and one of seven to make the rankings overall. Not a lot of solace with such a disappointing end to the season, but Dallas does have a ton of talent on their roster. While it clearly doesn’t guarantee results, it’s certainly better to have than not.

Here’s why Cowboys CB DaRon Bland should be defensive player of the year

20 years from now, no one is going to remember the performances put on by the 2023 edge rushers. But they’ll still be talking about Bland, and the TDs aren’t his only argument. | From @KDDrummondNFL

He’s not the Sauce, but his game is seasoned with more flavor than any of the other options on the menu. We weren’t shooting with him in the gym and we certainly weren’t cooking in the kitchen when he was prepping, but we were invited to attend the grand opening of a future three-star Michelin rating for Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland.

After a shockingly strong rookie campaign where he ascended to secondary sous chef behind Trevon Diggs, the latest Al Harris protege was sent to study. Leading the team with five interceptions out of the slot in 2022 wasn’t enough. Instead the team asked him to master boundary-corner cuisine. And what he created when taking over the kitchen in 2023 was worthy of accolade.

Just like Fx’s The Bear was the best show on cable television in 2023, Bland was that on broadcast TV. The NFL is king, owning 96 of the 100 most-watched programs since September and no player stole the spotlight more than Bland did. He was the NFL’s best defender this season and should be the clear choice to be named Defensive Player of the Year.

But the voters are going to get it wrong.

Those voters are likely giving the award to one of the game’s preeminent edge rushers. The food critics are league media, and the buzz throughout the last month of the season is likely reflective of what the final reviews will look like.

And the media aren’t talking about Bland’s historic season the way they should be.

9 Cowboys named to AP All-Pro teams, led by WR CeeDee Lamb

The Cowboys two best players didn’t make First-Team All-Pro, but the club leads the NFL in players on the 2023 roster. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys apparently have the most great players in the NFL in 2023. A league-high nine members of the club’s 53-man roster were named to the Associated Press’ All-Pro team following the conclusion of the regular season. The leading vote getter for the club was wideout CeeDee Lamb, who fell just one vote shy of being a unanimous selection.

The AP All-Pro team is comprised of the best players at their positions, regardless of conference. Much like the NFLPA All-Pro list revealed earlier in the week, the best Cowboys player on each side of the ball was not named to the First Team. Both quarterback Dak Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons have been named to the Second-Team.

Dallas finished with a 12-5 record, tied for the best in their conference while winning the NFC East for the second time in three years. Dallas finished with the same final record as the San Francisco 49ers, but due to a head-to-head loss in Week 5, are the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff bracket as the tournament is set to kick off. In a likely preview of the MVP voting to be announced in February, Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson took 45 of the 50 first-place votes for quarterback, with Prescott and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy getting two first-place votes each. Prescott had more overall votes than Purdy, earning the Second-Team honor.

The 49ers had seven players between the two teams with five First-Team players, including RB Christian McCaffrey and LB Fred Warner, who were unanimous choices.

Here’s a rundown of who made each from the Cowboys, as well as the full First and Second teams.