Even though it might not seem that way because of the early returns, the Dallas Cowboys may have struck gold in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. That's where Shavon Revel landed, who drew first-round grades before suffering a season-ending ACL injury.
The rookie out of East Carolina missed most of his first campaign in the pros and struggled mightily when he got a chance to showcase his skills. That said, it's hard to blame him for any of the things that went wrong under defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
That's why, now that he's fully healthy and eager to silence the doubters, Revel might be the most overlooked reinforcement for Christian Parker's defense. If anything, last season was like training camp and preseason for him.
Shavon Revel could make a huge impact for the 2026 Dallas Cowboys
At first glance, Revel was far from special in what was essentially a redshirt rookie season. He made seven appearances (five starts) with 35 total tackles (23 solo), one tackle for loss, and three passes defensed. He also gave up a 73.7 percent completion rate (28 completions on 38 targets) for 331 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 11.8 yards per completion with a 126.1 passer rating.
Clearly, opposing teams were targeting the rookie, as they should, since he had been out for a while. Now, that shouldn't be the case as he gears up for 2026. He'll have a full training camp to get a grasp of the NFL speed, and with a former defensive back coach as his new defensive coordinator, he should be better.
Some players need more time than others to figure things out, and Revel was thrown into the fire and put in a terrible situation from the jump. Revel lacked simple fundamentals like tackling in the Christmas Day game against Washington, but to be fair, Eberflus' defense was missing assignments all around.
The Cowboys' defense should be much better as a whole in 2026, and that will also take plenty of pressure off their once-shaky secondary.
Standing at 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds, Revel was a star in press-man coverage in college. He showcased elite body control and great understanding of how to use his long arms to disrupt the receiver at the catch point, and his promising ball skills make him look like a ball hawk in the making.
The Cowboys enter this league with Super Bowl aspirations, so they might not want to wait for him or let him grow through his mistakes. That said, with DaRon Bland locked in as one of the starting cornerbacks, Revel should be in a position to at least make his case to start opposite him.
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