The Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager, Jerry Jones, has faith in this young, up-and-coming defender. Will he help with their defensive woes? 

Shavon Revel, the cornerback, is expected to take the next step this season. The Dallas Cowboys will focus on Revel’s development this offseason. The cornerback played for East Carolina and was drafted in the third round as the 76th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. 

Jones said, “Revel is a really young, raw guy. He didn’t get to play a lot last year because of his injury. Parker liked him too, so he’s already got one project on his hands that thinks a lot of, we think a lot of.” 

The general manager approves and nods at the talent possessed by Shavon Revel. The CB might get a bigger role in this year's NFL season. 

Clearly, there is buzz around Revel, and in the 2025 season, Dallas was horrible on defense. In the limited minutes earned by Revel, the CB had 35 combined tackles, and 23 of these were solo takedowns.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer is looking forward to the season with Revel and said, “Von’s going to take a big step this year, finally healthy, finally feeling good. We’ve got talented guys that need to be developed.” 

Revel’s 2025 NFL season ended prematurely when he suffered a concussion against the Commanders on Christmas. The cornerback cannot wait and will be raring to go in the 2026 NFL season.

Who are some of the other rookies that can help out the beleaguered Cowboys defense?

Defensive end or edge, Donovan Ezeiruaku, drafted in the second round as the 44th overall pick, will enter this season with more responsibility. Played 604 snaps as a rookie and finished with two sacks as well. The DE will look to take the next step in his sophomore season. 

Linebacker Shemar James, drafted in the 5th round as the 152nd overall pick, played only six out of the 14 games, had one fumble recovery, and two pass deflections. James will look forward to a more active second season in the NFL. 

Defensive tackle Jay Toia, drafted in round 7 as the 217th overall pick, played only five games in the previous season and had four tackles in 90 snaps. However, this DE might face competition from veteran players for the position. 

Dallas needs all the help it can get on the defensive side of the ball. These second-year players should see this as an opportunity and take it as they come. 

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Written by

Samvruth Raj

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu