Fresno State's DaRon Bland at Cowboys Training Camp

The cornerback was selected in the fifth round with the No. 167th pick by the Dallas Cowboys after impressing at Pro Day.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Fresno State's DaRon Bland at Cowboys Training Camp
The cornerback was selected in the fifth round with the No. 167th pick by the Dallas Cowboys after impressing at Pro Day.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- DaRon Bland was Fresno State's lone draft pick this year.

The cornerback was selected in the fifth round with the No. 167th pick by the Dallas Cowboys after impressing at Pro Day.

The Cowboys hold their annual training camp in Oxnard, CA.

Bland, a Modesto native, says his family has already come to watch him at practice.

Sports Anchor Bri Mellon caught up with Bland after Tuesday's practice and asked what the biggest challenge has been for him so far: "Being fast with the thinking of the game, and being a chest game. Having a better thinking and being ahead of the plays."

When asked about defending Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott: "It's funny because this is a guy we grew up watching, coming up from high school. You can see how at this level how smart the quarterbacks are getting in those tight spaces."

"This defense makes plays, you always want to be a part of a defense that makes plays," Bland said about the Dallas defense that ranked first in the league in takeaways last season.

Cowboys Insider for The Athletic Jon Machota says that Bland has the right size that an NFL team looks for in a corner, "He's made plays on the ball, and probably the most important thing is that we were talking to Jerry Jones the other day and he brought up how Bland has been making plays on the ball. That's way bigger than anything we're going to see, because he's clearly hearing that from the organization. They like what they've got in him for sure."

Machota went on to say that the cornerback position is one of the deepest on the Cowboys roster, "He's going to have to make the team doing stuff on special teams. There is veterans there, no question his ability to soak up knowledge from them is going to be huge. It's not just about this year but about his career going forward."

The Cowboys open up the preseason on August 13th against the Denver Broncos.