Ronald Darby
Ronald Darby is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 10 seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. He has played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, and Jacksonville Jaguars. A world-class sprinter during his high school years, Darby won medals at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics.
Early life
Darby attended Potomac High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland, where he played as many as six different positions on offense, defense, and special teams. Excelling on defense, Darby was part of a Wolverines' secondary that also included Tavon Young, and which registered four shutouts and allowed just 82 points in 2011. Darby was a USA Today and Sports Illustrated High School All-American in 2011, and participated in the 2012 Under Armour All-American Game. as a junior, rushed for 1,329 yards and 23 touchdowns, while tallying three interceptions and eight pass breakups on defense.Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Darby, running a 4.37-second 40-yard dash, was ranked as the No. 2 cornerback prospect in his class, behind only Tracy Howard. He chose Florida State over Notre Dame, Maryland, Clemson and Auburn.
Darby won a bronze medal in the 200 m at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics. He also finished fourth in the 100 m. Along with Aldrich Bailey, Najee Glass, and Arman Hall, he ran a World Youth Best in the meet's medley relay.
His personal bests are 6.77 seconds in the 60 meters, 10.41 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.05 seconds in the 200 meters.
College career
As a true freshman at Florida State, Darby was part of a Florida State defense that led the Atlantic Coast Conference in points allowed and yards allowed. They ranked seventh in the FBS. Although exclusively a back-up to Xavier Rhodes and Nick Waisome, Darby registered 18 tackles and broke up seven passes in 2012, which earned him ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Darby was also named Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. In the 2013 Orange Bowl vs. Northern Illinois, Darby registered four solo tackles and one defended pass. As a sophomore, he played in 14 games with nine starts, including playing in, and winning the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. For the season he had 14 tackles and two interceptions. As a junior in 2014, he started all 14 games and recorded 43 tackles. Additionally, Darby was a brother of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity while attending Florida State University.After his junior season, Darby entered the 2015 NFL draft.
Professional career
Pre-draft
NFL draft analysts projected Darby to be selected in the second or third round. He attended the NFL Combine and performed well in the 40, 20, and 10-yard dash. He participated at Florida State's Pro Day, but only performed positional drills. He had pre-draft visits with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, and New York Jets. NFL analyst Lance Zierlein ranked him as the third-best cornerback in the draft. Sports Illustrated ranked Darby as the sixth-best cornerback prospect in the draft. NFLDraftScout.com had him ranked as the seventh best cornerback available in the draft.Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills selected Darby in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. He was the seventh cornerback drafted and was the first of two cornerbacks selected from Florida State, along with third-round pick P. J. Williams.2015
On May 19, 2015, the Buffalo Bills signed Darby to a four–year, 4.56 million rookie contract that included $2.17 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.58 million.Throughout training camp, he competed against Leodis McKelvin, Corey Graham, Ross Cockrell, Nickell Robey, and Ron Brooks to be a starting cornerback under defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman. Head coach Rex Ryan named him the a starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with Stephon Gilmore.
On September 13, 2015, Darby made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Buffalo Bills' home-opener against the Indianapolis Colts and made six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and had his first career interception on a pass thrown by Andrew Luck to wide receiver T. Y. Hilton during a 27–14 victory. In Week 3, he recorded five combined tackles, set a season-high with four pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Ryan Tannehill to tight end Jordan Cameron during a 41–14 victory at the Miami Dolphins. His performance earned him the AFC Defensive Rookie of the Month for September. In Week 9, Darby collected a season-high ten solo tackles and made a pass deflection as the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 33–17. He was inactive for the Bills' 16–6 victory against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16 after suffering a groin injury. He finished his rookie season with 68 combined tackles, 21 pass deflections, and two interceptions in 15 games and 15 starts, while also being named Pro Football Focus' Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. He received an overall grade of 86.3 from Pro Football Focus, which is the fifth highest grade by a rookie cornerback since PFF began.
2016
He entered training camp slated as the de facto No. 2 starting cornerback. Head coach Rex Ryan retained Darby and Stephon Gilmore as the starting cornerbacks following their successful performance in 2015.On September 15, 2016, Darby made six combined tackles and set a season-high with three pass deflections as the Bills were defeated 31–37 by the New York Jets. He was inactive for the Bills' 33–18 victory against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 due to a hamstring injury. In Week 7, he collected a season-high eight solo tackles during a 28–25 loss at the Miami Dolphins. On November 27, 2016, Darby made four solo tackles before exiting in the first quarter of a 28–21 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars after suffering a concussion after running back Chris Ivory accidentally delivered a knee into Darby's helmet while he was attempting a hurdle as Darby dove for a tackle. He remained in concussion protocol and was subsequently inactive for a 38–24 loss at the Oakland Raiders the following week. In Week 14, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles during a 27–20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. On December 27, 2016, the Bills announced their decision to fire head coach Rex Ryan after falling to a 7–8 record and appointed offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn to interim head coach for the last game of the season. He finished the 2016 NFL season with 69 combined tackles and 12 pass deflections in 14 games and 14 starts. He received an overall grade of 70.6 from Pro Football Focus in 2016, which ranked 66th among all qualifying cornerbacks.
2017
On January 11, 2017, the Buffalo Bills hired Carolina Panthers' defensive coordinator Sean McDermott as their new head coach. He entered training camp slated as the No. 1 starting cornerback following the departure of Stephon Gilmore and was paired with rookie first round pick Tre'Davious White under new defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.Philadelphia Eagles
On August 11, 2017, the Bills traded Darby to the Philadelphia Eagles for slot wide receiver Jordan Matthews and a third round pick in the 2018 NFL draft. During training camp, he competed to be a starting cornerback against Patrick Robinson, Rasul Douglas, and Jalen Mills under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Head coach Doug Pederson named him the No. 1 starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with Jalen Mills.On September 10, 2017, Darby made his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles in their season-opener at the Washington Redskins and made one solo tackle before being carted off the field in the second quarter of a 30–17 victory after injuring his ankle. The following day, it was reported that Darby was diagnosed with a dislocated ankle and was expected to be out for 4–6 weeks. On November 19, 2017, Darby returned from injury after missing eight games and collected a season-high eight solo tackles, made two pass deflections, and had his first interception of the season on a pass thrown by Dak Prescott to wide receiver Dez Bryant as the Eagles won 37–9 at the Dallas Cowboys. In Week 15, he made five solo tackles, set a season-high with three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Eli Manning to wide receiver Roger Lewis during a 34–29 win at the New York Giants. The following week, Darby made six combined tackles, a pass deflection, and secured the Eagles' 19-10 victory against the Oakland Raiders after intercepting a pass by Derek Carr to wide receiver Amari Cooper with 57 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. He finished with 34 combined tackles, a career-high three interceptions, and nine passes defended in eight games and seven starts. He earned an overall grade of 78.3 from Pro Football Focus in 2017.
The Philadelphia Eagles finished the 2017 NFL season first in the NFC East with a 13–3 record to clinch a first-round bye. On January 17, 2018, Darby started in his first career playoff appearance and made seven solo tackles and a pass deflection as the Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons 15–10 in the Divisional Round. The following week, he recorded seven combined tackles and a team-high three pass deflections as the Eagles routed the Minnesota Vikings 38–7 in the NFC Championship Game to advance to the Super Bowl. On February 4, 2018, Darby started in Super Bowl LII and had four solo tackles and two pass deflections as the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41–33.