“It's definitely hard to keep a low profile after last season, but I'm having fun,” Brand said with a big smile after enjoying the 2024 Reliant Home Run Derby for the Salvation Army. Ta.
But he doesn't plan on changing his approach this offseason. Because it's not broken and the brand isn't trying to fix it.
“Everything was the same,” the first-team All-Pro said of his offseason efforts heading into his third year. “It has to be the same.” I always have the same expectations.that [did] I want to increase my confidence and continue in this league for many more years. Now that I'm in my third year, I'm starting to feel more confident. ”
Considering Trevon Diggs is expected to be available at the start of training camp after suffering a tear, Brand certainly won't be the only record-setting cornerback to be on the field for the Cowboys in 2023. It works in the Cowboys' favor. ACL last September.
The loss of Diggs was a huge blow to Dallas' defense, but Brand's excellence helped stop the bleeding. But in the coming months, Diggs will be in the opposite position, as opposed to the version previously set (in 2023) of splitting reps with Jourdan Lewis at nickel before injuries rocked the depth chart. It will return to a defense that features an ascended brand playing on the perimeter. .
The brand couldn't be more excited about Diggs' return.
“A lot of people don't expect what Tre will bring back,” he said of the fellow first-team All-Pro and former NFL interceptions leader. “We know what Tre's coming back with, and it's going to be dangerous. I can't wait.”
A big reason for the immediate success of both Diggs and Brand at the NFL level can be attributed to a coaching staff that includes Al Harris, who was promoted to assistant head coach this offseason, but whose original job as defensive backs coach was is also held.
“He was very important [to my development]“When you come here, you don't always have a coach that gives you the confidence to go get the ball and tell you to go and do your thing,'' Brand said of Harris. It's great to have him in this room as assistant head coach and for the entire team to experience him.”
Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, a former Super Bowl-winning defensive backs coach in Dallas, will join the cast in 2024, but it's hard to argue with Brand's recipe for a “dangerous” prediction.
“right now, [Zimmer is] “It's helped us understand the game better, we understand the defense better, and he keeps everyone on the same page,” Brand said.
There's no shortage of firepower in the defensive secondary with Diggs' return, and Brand is also one of the best cornerbacks in the entire league, so there's a very obvious target pre-packaged – as to who they're going to attack. Whether it's a message to opposing quarterbacks on base between reps, or a mantra executed by the Cowboys' resident falconer:
