Back in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys decided to grab defensive back Shavon Revel Jr. out of East Carolina in the third round.
This, despite clearly being in need of a running back at the time. And this with several solid running backs sitting there to be taken and no fourth-round pick available.
The argument was that Revel had been projected to be a first-round pick.
He’d fallen into the third round because he blew out his knee in the third week of the season at East Carolina last fall.
Keep in mind that 11 NFL teams passed on him three times. Twenty NFL teams passed on him twice.
Yet Dallas decided he was a must-have player over several solid running backs they could have used.
The pick left the Cowboys picking Jaydon Blue in the fifth round and Phil Mafah in the seventh round. They will now hope that one of these rookies will step up.
Because neither Javonte Williams nor Miles Sanders are going to.
So how is the third-round flyer paying off so far?
Revel Looks Hampered
The Cowboys made the move because the surgeon who repaired Revel’s knee said the procedure went well and he is the team’s doctor.
Sometimes you need an unbiased opinion before making a big decision.
Check out this video from camp last week of Revel in action:
https://twitter.com/tommy_yarrish/status/1949566948829962289By comparison, here’s Trevon Diggs:
https://twitter.com/NickHarrisFWST/status/1949553005982048637Diggs was injured several weeks after Revel. Yet he clearly looks to be moving much better than the rookie in camp so far.
Revel is limping in the video above.
There’s no way to tell from it if he tweaked the knee on this play, is it still bothering him, or is he looking gimpy because he still doesn’t trust it.
But when compared to how Diggs looks, less further removed from his injury late last year, it just isn’t a good look for Revel.
Nor is it a good look for the front office that rolled the dice once again on an injured player and came up snake eyes.
Injury Bug Is Biting Hard
The Cowboys are getting banged up early in camp as it is.
Both projected starting tackles went down with injuries earlier this week. Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele both limped off the field.
Back-up guard Rob Jones broke a bone in his neck and will likely miss all of September and most of October.
We’re not even halfway through camp yet, either.
