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Shavon Revel Jr. #34 of the Dallas Cowboys

There are any number of holes that could be pointed to when it comes to the failure of the Dallas Cowboys‘ defense in 2025, and you could make a pretty strong case for each as the big reason the team allowed 511 points, the worst in the NFL and the worst in the history of the franchise. But most would probably agree that it was the secondary that most profoundly disappointed for the Cowboys with two veterans–DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs–struggling with injury and lack of production, and another rookie sitting out far longer than expected. That, of course, was Shavon Revel.

Revel does deserve some grace. He was a third-round pick by the Cowboys despite coming off a torn ACL that had been surgically repaired the previous fall. But Revel re-injured the ACL in training camp and he wound up needing more than three months before making his return, which did not come until Week 11 in November.

At that point, the Cowboys defense under Matt Eberflus had disintegrated and Revel was tossed into the deep end without a life jacket. According to Pro Football Focus, Revel was rated No. 112 out of 112 corners in the NFL in 2025.

Shavon Revel Will Be ‘The Best CB in the League’

Yes, yes, the Cowboys had Revel starting at corner even though he was graded as the worst corner in the NFL. But Cowboys coaches have not held that against him much, understanding he had too much put on his plate too quickly. Revel now is coming back into 2026 a more polished corner.

And he is ready to begin the journey from worst to first, as he told Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Said Revel: “I am going to be, someday, the best cornerback in the league,” he said. “That’s just how I look at it, and I have the confidence to say it. At the end of the day, I got to work.”

Cowboys DC Christian Parker a Key for Shavon Revel

It is a fine line between delusion and confidence, and for the Cowboys’ sake, let’s hope Revel lands on the right side of it. It’s a longshot that he can turn himself into the best corner in the NFL, but the Cowboys will readily accept a consistent, healthy starter who rates above league average.

During OTAs, Revel said the advice he has gotten from new defensive coordinator Christian Parker (who had been a defensive backs coach in Philadelphia and Denver) was not to think too much. He is clearly taking that to heart.

Cowboys Need a Healthy Defensive Backfield

As Revel said after Cowboys minicamp, “I don’t want to do too much overthinking, but my main goal is to obviously be the best player I can be and the best teammate I can be. Cleaning up a few things that I had a few errors on last year. I’m taking it slow and just taking it day-by-day.”

“A lot of these things are new to me. I didn’t get a true training camp last year. All of the stuff this year has helped me see my flaws and things I did good and things I need to work on.”

Revel is said to be moving better in the Cowboys’ offseason practices. That’s a good first step to getting back on the field and being productive–and that’s a first step to rating as the No. 1 corner in the league. Eventually.