Shavon Revel Jr. is entering his second season with the Dallas Cowboys in a much better spot than he was a year ago, and that’s exactly why he’s being talked about as one of the team’s biggest breakout names for 2026.
Dallas took Revel in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft at No. 76 overall, knowing an ACL injury could keep him off the field entirely as a rookie. He did manage to play in seven games, but the knee brace never let him look fully loose.
That’s changed now. With the brace gone, Revel has looked noticeably more fluid during offseason work, and that has pushed expectations up heading into his second year.
The Athletic’s Jon Machota recently singled him out as the Cowboys’ top breakout player to watch in 2026, pointing to both the injury recovery and the opportunity in front of him.
"Had it not been for a torn ACL in his final college season, Revel might have been a first-round pick in last year’s draft. Instead, he fell to the third round where the Cowboys selected him 76th overall. Recovery from the knee injury prevented him from appearing in a game last season until Week 11," Machota wrote.
"Now fully healed, Revel is in position to compete for a starting cornerback spot. He has the ideal size (6-2, 200), strength and athleticism to be a quality outside corner.
Cornerback is one of the biggest question marks on the roster. Revel should get a lot of valuable training camp work going against CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens."
That competition is real, though. The Cowboys didn’t clear a runway for Revel by default, instead signing Cobie Durant to a one-year deal in free agency. Durant arrives with veteran experience and is coming off a breakout season with the Los Angeles Rams, so Revel will have to win the job outright.
If he does, it would be a strong early step toward becoming the kind of draft steal Dallas believed it was getting when it made the pick.
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