When the Dallas Cowboys used a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., it was almost unanimously reviewed as a steal for Jerry and Stephen Jones. Prior to suffering a torn ACL, Revel was considered one of the best corners in the draft class and was a potential first-round pick. However, the injury depleted his draft stock, and proceeded to keep him out for the first 10 weeks of his rookie season as well.
Once Revel was able to take the field, however, the results were disastrous. PFF graded Revel as the worst qualified cornerback last season, 112th out of 112. Even worse, his coverage grade was truly horrendous, which raised immediate questions about what year two would hold. Those questions were only amplified as the Cowboys heavily added to the secondary this offseason, as well as bringing in new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. And now, Revel heads into training cup under immense pressure for a second-year player.
Shavon Revel will be under the microscope at Cowboys training camp
Revel's rookie season almost couldn't be further from expectations. He was expected to pair with DaRon Bland as a cornerstone for the secondary, but he now looks like a player who isn't guaranteed a starting spot when he goes into training camp. And again, part of that is because Dallas made some aggressive moves to help upgrade the secondary.
We know that rookie first-rounder Caleb Downs is going to be used heavily in the slot, but the team also brought in veteran Cobie Durant to help play on the outside. And if that weren't enough, the Cowboys believe they landed another mid-round steal with Devin Moore falling in their laps in the fourth round. That gives Revel a plethora of competition to contend with in camp and throughout the preseason.
If what we saw from Revel last season continues to be the norm in training camp, then it's not outlandish to say that he won't be a starter for this new-look defense. While I wouldn't go as far as to say his roster spot is in jeopardy, the narrative around him has undeniably changed. Thus, every rep in practice and in preseason action will be under deserved scrutiny from fans and the coaching staff alike.
But we shouldn't forget how much different this offseason is for Revel than last one, and how that should factor into the thinking when it comes to the second-year cornerback. Furthermore, we need to think about how the situation should color our perception of his rookie season.
Why Dallas would be fools to give up on Shavon Revel right now
Just considering the facts, Revel finally took the field for the Cowboys in Week 11 of the 2025 season. This was after he was coming off a torn ACL that kept him sidelined for more than a year, and a recovery that was seemingly longer and more arduous than expected. Meanwhile, as Revel entered the fray for the Cowboys, he was essentially relied upon as a starter immediately, despite him being a small-school prospect making a leap to the pros without normal offseason workouts or even a training camp as a first-year player.
That's not to say that the situation entirely excuses just how bad Revel was as a rookie, but it is to say that he was fighting a tremendously uphill battle from the start. More importantly, though, it should also buy him some benefit of the doubt entering this year's training camp.
Revel has now had a healthy offseason to train. He should be back to full strength and have more confidence in his previously injured knee. And beyond that, he's now going to be able to get into the building for training camp, in addition to the minicamps he was also able to attend this offseason, and get the valuable reps with the defensive coaching staff and his Cowboys teammates.
That's all working in the second-year DB's favor. Again, this is a player who was being considered as a first-round-caliber talent prior to the injury. Now that he's healthy, we could see Dallas start to reap the rewards as the performance starts to match up with the draft pedigree.
By no means is this a guarantee, to be sure. Revel was, again, the worst cornerback in the league by PFF's grading. If he's still a problem on the field for this Cowboys defense, Dallas has done a good enough job bringing in reinforcements to where they won't have to rely on him. However, the different circumstances that Revel now faces should harbor some optimism about him bouncing back and getting his young career back on track.
More NFL news and analysis
Add us as a preferred source on Google