DAL Dallas Cowboys · DB· #26

DaRon Bland

Age
27
Height
6'2"
Weight
202 lbs
College
Fresno State
Drafted
2022, No. 167 overall (DAL)
Experience
5th NFL season

43

Overall grade

81st of 96 cornerbacks

Well below typical

below average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

The number holding him back is passer rating allowed: 110, 80th of 96.

Lately he is playing worse. Yards allowed per target is 13.2 over the last 2 games (16 targets), against 5.6 before that. The change points one way, but a few plays could still explain it.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the cornerbacks in the league.

  • Missed tackles8%43rd of 90small sample
  • Passes defended per target7%72nd of 96
  • Yards allowed per target9.879th of 96
  • Passer rating allowed11080th of 96
  • Completion rate allowed72%85th of 96small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying cornerbacks. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among cornerbacks after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 68th percentileWeek 3: 71st percentileWeek 4: 27th percentileWeek 5: 18th percentile18th

Season rank slipped: 68th to 18th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

Yards allowed per target game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametargetsSeason rank after
1vs NYG9.25–
2vs WAS3.3768th pct
3vs BAL4.0171st pct
4vs HOU13.6827th pct
5vs TB12.8818th pct

Lower is better for this stat. One game is a small sample: a single stat over 6 targets can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every cornerback with at least 10 targets. Right on the strip is better.

Yards allowed per target

Well below typical

9.8lower is better

79th of 96 cornerbacks · bottom 19%

The yards the receiver he is covering gets each time he is targeted. Fewer is better.

The box score: Interceptions are rare and say little about the hundred plays where he is just covering.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, teams won 72% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on yards allowed per target, and 55% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 13.2 (16) vs 5.6 before−23.3grade points downA clear change

Sample still growing · 29 targets · true level likely 6.9 to 12.7

Passer rating allowed

Well below typical

110lower is better

80th of 96 cornerbacks · bottom 18%

The passer rating of quarterbacks throwing at him. 158.3 is perfect for the passer, so lower is better for the defender.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, teams won 72% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on passer rating allowed, and 53% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 136 (16) vs 78 before−20.8grade points downA clear change

Sample still growing · 29 targets · true level likely 93 to 127

Completion rate allowed

Well below typical

72%lower is better

85th of 96 cornerbacks · bottom 13%

The share of passes thrown at him that are completed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, a good or bad game on completion rate allowed from a cornerback has not lined up much with his team winning (64% wins in the best third, 53% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 75% (16) vs 69% before−2.7grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 29 targets · true level likely 59% to 86%

Passes defended per target

Below typical

7%

72nd of 96 cornerbacks · bottom 27%

How often a pass thrown at him ends with him breaking it up. A cornerback does this far more often than he intercepts.

The box score: Passes defended are counted, but never against how often he was tested.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, a good or bad game on passes defended per target from a cornerback has not lined up much with his team winning (60% wins in the best third, 68% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 6% (16) vs 8% before−2.2grade points downWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 29 targets · true level likely -2% to 16%

Missed tackles

Typical

8%lower is better

43rd of 90 cornerbacks · top 48%

The share of his tackle chances he missed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Tackle totals reward the player who gets the most chances, not the one who finishes them.

Does it show up in winning? Across 168 games league-wide, teams won 55% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on missed tackles, and 43% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 11% (9) vs 7% before−3.5grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 24 tackle chances · true level likely -2% to 19%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the cornerbacks around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Depth of passes at him

Style

11.0 yds

Right around the middle of cornerbacks: a typical one is 10.6 yds.

How far downfield the passes thrown at him travel on average. It shows whether he is tested deep or underneath, which is a role, not a grade.

Sample still growing · 29 targets

Playing time

He has played in 5 of his team's 5 games with snap counts, on the field for about 99% of the team's defensive plays when he plays.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's defensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

DaRon Bland game by game
GameResultSnapsTklSoloAstTFLSacksPressPBUIntMissedYds/targetRating againstComp % againstPBU/target
Wk 1 vs NYGL 20–28100%8350000009.2105100%0%
Wk 2 vs WASW 37–2094%5410001003.35143%14%
Wk 3 vs BALL 31–34100%1101000014.0123100%0%
Wk 4 vs HOUW 34–30100%33000000013.615675%0%
Wk 5 vs TBL 16–24100%55000010112.811775%13%

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among cornerbacks. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

DaRon Bland box score totals
StatTotalRank
Tackles2216th of 96
Solo tackles1614th of 96
Assisted tackles629th of 96
Tackles for loss119th of 96
Sacks011th of 96
Pressures025th of 96
Passes defended251st of 96
Interceptions027th of 96
Missed tackles220th of 96

Players with a similar profile

The cornerbacks whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.