OXNARD, Calif. — DaRon Bland looks confident, and much more so than he did at certain points during the previous two seasons. Once a First-team All-Pro cornerback known as the Pick-Six King, and not very long ago, the Dallas Cowboys veteran has battled a nagging foot issue that's slowed him greatly.

But, in this year's training camp, Bland is anything but chopped and screwed (look it up).

He is consistently making plays on the ball in every practice and it's due in large part to his trust in the surgically-repaired foot — explosive breaks out of routes, the ability to stay in the hip pocket of receivers like CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Ryan Flournoy, and his closing speed generating a list of PBUs in padded practices.

"I mean, [my foot is] a lot better now," Bland said. "I don't really feel like any aches or pains, just a little soreness here and there, but nothing major."

That might sound like it isn't a big deal, but it most certainly is.

"I'm definitely getting a lot more push now, getting on my break, so not worried about it," he added.

Bland will be looked upon to lead a very young, but also very promising, group of cornerbacks in 2026; and a large part of that leadership will need be in the form of rediscovering the version of himself that grabbed a whopping nine interceptions with a record-setting five pick-sixes in 2023.

"I mean, I think about it always, you know?" he said. "That's probably one of my best years, so I'm really trying to just hone in on being back to myself and knowing what I could take the good and the bad from it."

The Pro Bowler and former NFL interceptions leader has only one interception since that iconic 2023 campaign, playing a total of roughly just one season's worth of games in the two years that followed, the aforementioned foot issue costing him both time and explosiveness.

The latter is back, and the former will tell the tale of if he can remain healthy, but he's already hearing from offensive and defensive players about exactly how back he actually looks.

"They can tell the difference between last year and this year," said Bland.

So far, so good for Bland in Oxnard, and his biggest test awaits, effective Sept. 13, when he and the Cowboys kick off the regular season and look to put the New York Giants the bed in the City That Never Sleeps.