'DPOY Bland!' Philadelphia Eagles Darius Slay Picks Dallas Cowboys CB Daron Bland for Postseason Award
The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are at the forefront of the races for the top spot both in the NFC East and NFC as a whole, but as far as cornerback Darius Slay is concerned, real recognizes real.
Slay -- a five-time Pro Bowler -- praised Dallas cornerback DaRon Bland for setting a new NFL record with five interceptions returned for a touchdown in the same season, as the Cowboys throttled the Washington Commanders 45-10 in a Thanksgiving win on Thursday. Bland, in the estimation of Slay, has earned the Defensive Player of the Year honor this season.
"DPOY Bland right now ... it shouldn't even be a debate," Slay said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Daron Bland (left) has earned the Defensive Player of the Year in the mind of Darius Slay (right).
USA TODAY
While Bland's name unquestionably deserves to be mentioned in regards to the award, he still faces an uphill battle to win it. Since 2011, the only secondary player to be voted Defensive Player of the Year was cornerback Stephen Gilmore in 2019 with the New England Patriots. Ironically, Gilmore is now a teammate of Bland with the Cowboys.
The problem for Bland is that pass rushers Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt and Bland's teammate, Micah Parsons, are all putting together tremendous seasons as well. Garrett and Watt specifically have willed teams with great offensive limitations into playoff contention in the AFC, and it can be argued that both should be at the forefront of the NFL MVP race, as well as Defensive Player of the Year. Parsons perhaps doesn't have that same case, but he might be the best overall player in the sport, with 40 combined tackles, 23 quarterback hits, 13 tackles for a loss and 11.5 sacks.
For his part, Parsons quoted Slay's tweet about how Bland should win Defensive Player of the Year with a simple message, saying "Facts!!!". Perhaps Parsons' endorsement of Bland will help the second-year cornerback to build some momentum among voters. Ultimately, though, one of Garrett or Watt feels likely to win the award.
