The Dallas Cowboys don't have too many holes on their roster, but cornerback is one position that has fans uneasy as we approach the halfway point of the offseason. With OTAs up and running, the coaching staff is leaving no stone unturned to find the best possible collection of starters in the secondary.
That may include star DaRon Bland playing a new position. For the second straight practice open to the media, Bland played most of his snaps in the nickel.
Per Cowboys staff writer Tommy Yarrish, Bland "spent a majority of the time in the slot" during team drills. While Bland has moonlighted on the outside, it sounds like defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is giving serious consideration to starting Bland in the nickel.
Cowboys star DaRon Bland playing new position at OTAs
It is one thing that Bland played the slot in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s, but he also played the position during an individual drill, per Joseph Hoyt of All-City DLLS.
It is important not to put too much stock into player performance at OTAs. These practices are mostly for installing new schemes and verbiage and getting players on the same page. They reveal a lot about what a coaching staff thinks about certain players.
Training camp will tell the full story in that regard, but Bland spending most of his time in the slot is comfortably the biggest takeaway from OTAs thus far.
While Bland has played on the outside the last two seasons to help Dallas overcome injuries, he is naturally a nickel cornerback. Jourdan Lewis' presence as a stud slot corner also played a role in Bland kicking outside.
The former fifth-round pick played 434 snaps in the slot as a rookie in 2022 compared to just 78 on the outside, per PFF. Lewis was out injured for most of that season. With Lewis healthy for most of 2023 and '24, Bland played a combined 1,183 snaps out wide compared to 120 in the slot.
Bland is an ideal replacement for Lewis, who signed with the Jaguars as a free agent. The only problem is who starts out wide.
Diggs is expected to miss the start of the regular season due to a knee injury and rookie Shavon Revel Jr. is working his way back from an ACL tear. Kaiir Elam and Andrew Booth have been starting at both outside positions while Bland has worked in the slot.
That is not ideal, but there is plenty of time to get it sorted.
What's most important is that Dallas recognizes the importance of the nickel, and Bland is one of the best in the league at that position.
