DaRon Bland

15 pass breakups in 2023 — the same season he set the all-time NFL record with 5 pick-6s.

Bland's 2023 wasn't just a great year — his 5 interception-return touchdowns broke the all-time single-season NFL record (previously 4, held by Ken Houston, Jim Kearney, Eric Allen, and Charles Woodson). He did it in his second pro season as a 5th-round pick.

The 15 pass breakups in the regular season alone added to the resume — top-3 in the NFL that year. Pro Bowl, All-Pro, AP Defensive Player of the Year votes — all of it came from this 17-game regular-season stretch.

From 5th-round corner to AP All-Pro to 7-game injury year — four very different seasons.

The shape of Bland's career so far: breakout (2022), historic (2023), wiped out by injury (2024), comeback (2025). The 2024 dip wasn't usage — he missed half the season with a stress fracture in his foot, only playing 7 games.

2025 looks like a healthy return: 44 solo tackles and 3 TFLs through 12 games, on pace to match his 2022 rookie volume. The PD number (6) is well below the 2023 peak — defenses still throw away from him.

5 pick-6s in 2023 — the NFL single-season record, by one.

Bland's 2023 record line: 5 interceptions returned for touchdown. The previous record was 4, held jointly by Ken Houston (1971), Jim Kearney (1972), Eric Allen (1993), and Charles Woodson (2009).

What makes it stand out: those four predecessors were veteran All-Pros (Houston is a Hall of Famer, Allen and Woodson made multiple Pro Bowls before their record years). Bland did it in Year 2 as a 5th-round pick, the 167th overall selection.

It's also the kind of record that rewards both opportunity and finish — you need the ball thrown your way, the ball-skills to catch it, and the open-field instincts to reach the end zone. Bland did all three five times.

His 2024 stress fracture cut a 17-game pace nearly in half — 7 games, 29 solo tackles.

After the historic 2023, expectations for 2024 were Defensive POY contention. Instead: stress fracture in his foot in training camp, 10 games missed, 7 games played, 29 solo tackles, 5 PDs, 0 INTs.

Dallas's pass defense numbers cratered without him on the field — they finished bottom-10 in passing yards allowed per game. The 2023 line of 5 pick-6s in 17 games means Bland averaged a pick-6 every 3.4 games. In 2024 he played 7 games and didn't have one.

2025 is the come-back: healthy through 12 games, 44 solo tackles and 3 TFLs — physically the same player, the splash plays haven't fully returned yet.

2022 (rookie) had nearly identical solo-tackle volume to 2025 — 45 in 14 games vs. 44 in 12.

Bland's solo-tackle rate has actually climbed since 2023, but the splash production hasn't. 2024 had his highest tackle rate (4.14/g) in just 7 games — and 2025 sits at 3.67/g, both above his 2023 record-year rate of 2.82.

The interpretation: when corners have to make more tackles, it usually means receivers are catching more passes in front of them. Bland's coverage profile has shifted from the 2023 hawk-on-the-route to a more conventional cover-and-tackle role.

171 career solo tackles in just 51 games — Pro Bowl trajectory if he stays healthy.

Bland has played 51 regular-season games across 4 years with 171 solo tackles, 80 assists, and 34 pass defenses. The PD count alone — 34 in 51 games — projects to roughly 54 PDs over an 81-game span (5 seasons), which is starting-CB-tier volume.

The gap between his 2023 peak and the surrounding years is what defines his place in the league: healthy Bland is one of the 5 best corners in football. Less than 100% Bland is still a starter, just without the splash plays.

Dallas signed him to a 4-year, $92M extension in 2025, confident that 2023 wasn't the ceiling — it was the floor.