One of the biggest stories heading into Oxnard for the Dallas Cowboys was their cornerback room. In 2025, the Cowboys secondary graded out as one of the worst units in the league, and gave up some historical bad numbers through the air.
With Caleb Downs, Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick, and Devin Moore all added to the cornerback mix, there was a lot of excitement surrounding the secondaries ability to make a jump in 2026.
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One of the key factors in that happening was second-year cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. showing positive signs of development. While Revel Jr. has still taken his lumps against George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb so far in camp, Saturday’s practice gave a good look into the growth he is showing during his first full training camp and offseason.
Early in Saturday’s practice, Revel Jr. was in perfect coverage on Pickens down the left sideline down in the red-zone. Unfortunately for him, the result was what a lot of defensive backs felt in 2025 with Pickens making a ridiculous grab, despite the tight coverage.
For many young cornerbacks, this frustration can lead to more-and-more struggles and eventually lead to a lack of concentration and confidence in their abilities, but like many other practices this offseason, Revel Jr. is maintaining his composure and bouncing back next time the ball is thrown his way.
Not long after, quarterback Dak Prescott tried to fit a tight window ball in the back of the end zone for Pickens, but Revel Jr. was in perfect coverage and flashed impressive ball skills to knock the ball away for a touchdown-saving PBU.
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Revel Jr. is currently in a battle for a starting cornerback job with Cobie Durant to see who will be the starting outside cornerback opposite of DaRon Bland, with Caleb Downs as the third corner when the Cowboys are in nickel. So far, the starting cornerback battle has been one of the most competitive battles in camp with Revel Jr. and Durant both making their fair share of plays in coverage.
The lack of talent at the top of the cornerback depth chart was a big reason the Cowboys pass defense struggled last season, but they also lacked any sort of quality depth. While the top end of the depth chart may still lack a true difference-maker, the Cowboys seem to have multiple NFL-level cornerbacks in training camp, and Revel Jr. is proving to be one of those through two weeks of training camp practices.
