It doesn’t feel like that long ago when the Dallas Cowboys were sitting pretty at cornerback. This team was expecting to have both its All-Pro cornerbacks healthy again and eventually add a promising young rookie to the mix. How could we not be happy with that?
Sadly, things have not worked out as fortuitously as we hoped. It’s been quite the opposite, in fact. Every element of the Cowboys’ cornerback situation has turned out poorly. Every single one. In less than a full season, the outlook at cornerback has gone from pleasantly hopeful to desperately in need of assistance. Let’s take a look.
Trevon Diggs
It’s amazing to think about how exciting it was to watch Trevon Diggs pick off 11 passes during his second year in the league back in 2021. The guy was such an incredible ball-hawking corner who had a football magnet for hands. Sure, he had a little gamble in him, and sometimes that left him exposed, but more times than not, his decisions worked out favorably as he racked up the interceptions. With each additional pick, the excitement grew. It was fun to watch.
That is why it’s so baffling to see things transpire as they have. Diggs had a good third season, earning Pro Bowl honors, but then tore his ACL in practice early in his fourth season, less than two months after signing a five-year, $97 million extension. He returned in 2024, but he just didn’t look like the same player. He started the first 10 games before suffering a groin injury that caused him to miss two games. Shortly thereafter, we learned that his knee had been bothering him all year and that he would miss the final four games to undergo season-ending knee surgery, again on his left knee. Little did we know, the drama was just beginning.
The Diggs ordeal has been one weird story after another. This summer when he was docked half a million for not meeting the offseason program clause in his contract. He didn’t rehab at the Cowboys facility, and the team didn’t like that. As the days went on, the friction grew stronger. He suffered a mysterious concussion, which we now know resulted from a TV mounting mishap, so he was placed on IR in October. When he was healthy enough to return, he didn’t.
For weeks now, fans have been left wondering what was going on with him. It was recently revealed that his delayed return wasn’t health-related, but rather because the coaches had issues with his mistakes in Cover 2. His reluctance to follow the scheme led him to take chances in practice, resulting in bad plays. When they feel Diggs was capable of following the direction of the coaching staff, then he’d be back on the field, and finally, that time came on Sunday. Unfortunately, his return did nothing to aid the defense and only served to validate the team’s apprehension in bringing him back. While the fat lady is not singing, we can’t help but think his time in Dallas is nearing an end, because let’s face it, he’s no longer that guy.
DaRon Bland
Right before the season started, the Cowboys rewarded Bland with a new four-year, $92 million deal. It caught many of us off guard, and it wasn’t clear if the extension had more to do with their belief in him or an indictment of how they felt about Diggs. Regardless, the team is now committed to him. And after what we saw during his second year in the league, many would be ecstatic about that, as he had a record-setting five interceptions returned for touchdowns.
Bland started the 2024 season on injured reserve from a stress fracture he suffered in training camp. After missing the first 10 games of the year, he returned. Obviously, he wasn’t going to continue to jump routes and take them to the house, so his presence on the field felt small in contrast to the year prior. His passes defended were few and far between, and he didn’t have a single interception. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t great either. Fast forward to this season, and his performance has gotten worse. His effort is there, and his physicality is never questioned, but he just isn’t fluid enough to hang with the top corners in the league. Far too many times, Bland has been a liability in coverage and sometimes even embarrassed.
His underwhelming play is a concern, but now there’s another factor that’s become a huge downer for the Cowboys. His feet. His injury history over the past two years has begun to grow:
- Missed 10 games in 2024 with a stress fracture (LEFT foot)
- Missed two games early this season with a sore foot (RIGHT foot)
- Will now miss the final three games of the year with a foot injury (LEFT foot again)
Maybe this is something he’s dealt with most of the year that has hindered his on-field performance? Maybe a fresh bill of health will be in the cards for him next year. Or, maybe all that’s just wishful thinking and the Cowboys have a legit concern with him. At some point, we have to start questioning if Bland is the guy.
Shavon Revel Jr.
It felt like the Cowboys would need to choose between Diggs and Bland, as paying top money to two corners didn’t seem plausible. Both corners came with questions, and the team appeared to hedge their bet with the Bland extension this offseason. Suddenly, it looked like that was a “tomorrow” problem, which afforded the team the luxury to select a top college prospect who came with a draft discount. That discount existed because he was dealing with his own recovery from a torn ACL he suffered during his final year in college. And that is what they got when they selected Shavon Revel Jr. in the third round of April’s draft.
It was exciting to think about landing a top corner, even if it meant his debut would be delayed. In week 11, his time had finally arrived as he logged 19 defensive snaps against the Las Vegas Raiders. Over his first two games, the rookie looked pretty good. He wasn’t giving way too much and kept his opponents in check. However, as his season progressed, Revel Jr. has shown more and more instances of vulnerability. On Sunday, the Chargers were coming after him, and he wasn’t up to the task.
To be fair, he’s a rookie. There will be growing pains. But it’s not just that. He’s a rookie coming off a major knee injury that inevitably will take time for him to trust his body. It wasn’t that long ago when he was sporting a huge brace on his knee, and his movement was so rigid that you wondered if the guy was even going to be ready at any point in the season. And maybe he’s not. Is it possible the Cowboys are trying to do too much with him out of necessity? Does he need more time to be comfortable enough to move like he did at East Carolina? That is what we are all hoping, but because we’ve seen what we’ve seen, doubt has now crept into our minds that maybe, just maybe, he’s also not the guy.
Then, who’s the guy?
We’ve still got time to evaluate the rookie next year. And all we can do is hope that Bland heals up and starts showing more of the good stuff than what we’ve seen this season. There’s no way the Cowboys will continue to pay good money for what they’re getting out of Diggs, so unless something changes with that situation, he won’t be around next season. So, what does all that mean for the Cowboys’ cornerback situation?
Premium draft capital. The Cowboys have two first-round draft picks next year. They sit in a great position to grab one of the top corners in the draft if that’s the direction they go. And considering how bad things have gone for them at the position, they might feel like they don’t have much of a choice. This team will address the defense in the draft, and edge rusher will also be at the top of the list, but it seems apparent that they’ll have to prioritize cornerback as well.
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