OXNARD, Calif. — Shavon Revel Jr. spent most of training camp trying to cover CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. When the Dallas Cowboys cornerback lined up against another accomplished receiving group Tuesday, he noticed a difference.
Dallas traveled to Woodland Hills for a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams, putting Revel across from Davante Adams and Puka Nacua.
Revel said his daily work in Oxnard had him ready.
“That felt easy,” Revel said of going up against the Rams receivers, “because I’ve been doing it every day against — in my opinion, personally — the best receivers in the league and I felt that throughout this camp. When we played the Rams, I was like ‘Damn, this is easy. It’s nothing because I’m guarding these guys every single day.'”
Nacua led the NFL with 129 receptions last season and finished with 1,715 receiving yards in 16 games. Adams enters his 13th NFL season with 1,017 catches, 12,633 yards and 117 touchdowns.
Revel still came away with plays against both of them.
Shavon Revel Jr. Makes Plays Against Puka Nacua, Davante Adams
Revel broke up passes intended for Nacua and Adams during the joint practice. One of his better reps came deep against Nacua.
Nacua gained a step with a double move, and Matthew Stafford put the ball downfield. Revel recovered and reached in to break it up. Another pass breakup in the end zone nearly turned into an interception.
Revel pointed to his physical tools when talking about how he wants to play receivers.
“My game is to make receivers run around me,” Revel said, “because I’m a long, fast guy and can catch up with pretty much anybody.”
Pickens has dealt with that length throughout camp.
“I feel like him being that physical at the line of scrimmage can definitely deter a lot of receivers in the league,” Pickens said.
The plays did not stop when Dallas returned to Oxnard. Revel broke up passes against Ryan Flournoy and Pickens during Thursday’s practice. He also had 4 pass breakups during the Cowboys’ first padded practice Aug. 3.
Dallas Cowboys Getting Different Version Of Shavon Revel Jr.
This is the first healthy NFL offseason Revel has had. Dallas selected him 76th overall in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft after a torn ACL ended his final season at East Carolina three games in. He began his first Cowboys camp on the non-football injury list and later had a setback with the knee.
His NFL debut came in Week 11 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I missed a whole year and a half of football,” Revel explained. “People don’t understand that your technique and all that can really go away. The game can come at you fast when you get back on that field.”
Revel appeared in 7 games as a rookie and finished with 35 combined tackles and 3 passes defensed.
He has had a full offseason to work this time, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer has noticed more confidence.
“He wants to be coached,” Schottenheimer said of Revel. “He’s the first guy in the room and asking good questions and there’s no mistaking why he’s playing with more confidence now than he was last year.”
Dallas has also worked with Revel on his technique when he is not playing press coverage. Schottenheimer said the details of playing off the receiver and knowing when to turn and run have been part of that work.
“Well, that’s not how we teach it,” Schottenheimer explained. “There’s a tempo element, then there’s a get-out element, then you got to turn and run. So I think it’s all the little details that he’s been diving into from the time we came back for the offseason program.”
Revel is competing for a starting job opposite DaRon Bland. Dallas listed Revel and Cobie Durant with an “or” designation on its first unofficial depth chart.
Revel said his approach has been less about convincing himself he belongs and more about sticking with his technique.
“To be honest, there’s confidence across the board,” Revel said. “I’m not coming out here with confidence, it’s just trusting my technique. Trust my technique, trust the what the coaches are installing in me, and just take it and get better every day.”
Dallas opens the preseason Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.
