Why ECU cornerback Shavon Revel Jr could be a sleeper first-round pick option for the Cowboys

Shavon Revel is a name to keep an eye on.

The start of the 2025 NFL Draft is at the end of April. The Dallas Cowboys and all 31 other franchises are hosting players for official in-person visits, and that will giveg a much clearer picture of what prospects teams are seriously interested in.

While the Cowboys have plenty of positions of need on their roster, the popular belief surrounding the team is that their first-round selection at pick 12 will be spent on either a cornerback, defensive end, or wide receiver. Dallas picked a good year to need the latter two positions, as this year’s draft class has multiple first-round worthy edge defenders and pass-catchers.

The cornerback position is different. While there does seem to be some decent overall depth in this year’s class, there aren’t any sure thing cornerbacks who are a lock to go in the top half of the first round, unless you project the ultra-talented Travis Hunter as a defensive back. If you group Hunter with the wide receivers, Michigan cornerback Will Johnson seems to be the consensus top prospect at the position this year.

Johnson had a stellar college career, but various outlets offer widely different projections for when he will be selected. Some believe Johnson will be a top-10 pick, while others think he could fall into the mid-twenties.

It’s clear the Cowboys have a significant need at the cornerback position. Losing Jourdan Lewis in free agency greatly affected the overall strength of the position group, along with the uncertainty of when Trevon Diggs will be healthy. The Cowboys desperately need to add a cornerback in the draft to play alongside DaRon Bland and Caelen Carson.

Johnson could certainly be that guy, and the Cowboys have already been linked to the cornerback quite a bit. But if Johnson is selected by a team ahead of Dallas in the draft order, is there another cornerback prospect who could be an under-the-radar option in the first round? There just might be, and it’s ECU prospect Shavon Revel Jr.

Revel may be one of the biggest boom-or-bust prospects in the entire draft class. The 22-year-old played three seasons at East Carolina University, in which 2023 was his most productive. During that season, Revel was named Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference, leading his team with 12 PBUs.

The cornerback started off the 2024 season red-hot, recording two interceptions in ECU’s first three games, but the 22-year-old unfortunately suffered a torn ACL during a practice in late September, forcing him to miss the rest of the year.

There are no questions about Revel’s physical traits. He stands 6’2” with 32 ⅝” arms and has the speed and explosiveness of an ideal NFL cornerback. His size and length would play perfectly in Matt Eberflus’ defense, and Revel measures up as the exact kind of corner Dallas’ new defensive coordinator is looking for physically.

The biggest question surrounding Revel is whether his play in an overall weaker college conference will translate to the NFL against much stiffer competition. While this is a valid concern, Revel’s unique physical traits should allow him to exceed when facing stricter competition this fall.

Besides being a perfect fit in Dallas’ defense, Revel is connected to the Cowboys in another way. Dr. Dan Cooper, the Cowboys team physician, performed the 22-year-old’s ACL surgery last September. Dallas famously drafted linebacker Jaylon Smith in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft after Cooper also performed his surgery.

While you can debate whether the Smith selection was a good one or not, there’s no denying that Dallas is much more comfortable selecting players with injury concerns who have had surgery conducted by their in-house physicians.

The Cowboys are set to host Revel as one of their 30 visits, showing they have at least some interest in the cornerback prospect.

While some see Revel as a potential option for the Cowboys with their second-round selection at pick 44, there is a scenario where he could be a sleeper option in the first round. If Will Johnson is off the board and the Cowboys feel the best player at a position of need available is indeed Revel, the talented cornerback could be a target in a potential trade-back option if the Cowboys are looking to acquire a third- or fourth-round pick and move back a few spots.

Is this scenario likely? Probably not, but at least some thought should be put into Shavon Revel Jr. being the name called by Roger Goodell with Dallas’ first-round selection come April 24th.