The Dallas Cowboys entered training camp with plenty of defensive question marks, but none are quite as riveting as what’s going on at the cornerback position. With uncertainty across the depth chart, everyone is trying to guess how this group shakes out. DaRon Bland is out to prove his foot issues are firmly behind him, Cobie Durant wants to validate his free agent investment, and Shavon Revel Jr. is looking to take a huge leap in his second year.
While veterans like Bland and Durant have looked
sharp, the reviews on Revel have been a bit of a mixed bag. It is still early in the process, but his camp performance is starting to paint a picture of exactly what kind of player the team has for the upcoming season.
The most encouraging piece of news is that his knee looks fantastic. It is a night-and-day difference from last year when he was seen wearing a massive knee brace that made his movements look incredibly stiff. Early last month, video clips surfaced of him moving with impressive fluidity. Now, getting overly excited about a football player running around on grass is usually not recommended, but for someone recovering from a knee injury, seeing him plant and cut without hesitation was a beautiful sight. All signs point to him finally being fully healthy.
When the pads finally came on, the coaching staff immediately threw everything at him. He lined up repeatedly against the team’s star receivers, which is a brutal assignment for anyone. Both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens gave him plenty of problems, but to his credit, he refused to give them breathing room. Last Monday turned into a true breakthrough day for him. Even when the star wideouts managed to haul in passes, he made them work for every bit of it.
While that sticky coverage is exactly what you want to see, his hand placement still needs a lot of work. He constantly uses his hands to gauge space and far too often becomes too grabby with the jerseys. When he gets beat off the line of scrimmage, he panics, doesn’t trust his makeup speed, and starts tugging. He has already accumulated a heavy dose of flags in camp, and quite honestly, that penalty count could be even higher since several of his pass breakups have left receivers frustrated, frantically gesturing to the refs.
On the bright side, his reaction time and closing burst in off coverage look great. He is making smart decisions and arriving at the target right when the ball gets there, which has led to some impressive pass breakups. He is doing a fine job of using his frame to get his inside hand around on slant routes to disrupt plays. Unfortunately, he still cannot resist using that trailing hand to hook the receiver around the waist. He has had quite a few close calls that possess serious yellow laundry potential. In his defense, many corners fall victim to interference calls when trying to survive against someone like Pickens.
Another positive piece of news is that his confidence is riding high. He has complete trust in his body now, and his explosive movement proves it. He possesses all the necessary raw physical traits, so the current challenge is simply teaching him how to use them without making costly mistakes. With new defensive coordinator Christian Parker in his corner, a man known for polishing raw potential into All-Pro talent, his developmental odds look favorable. If the staff can clean up the technical flaws, he has a real chance to become a lockdown defender in this league.
But for the immediate future, everyone needs to brace themselves for some predictable growing pains. With Bland and Durant looking more refined at the moment, it could mean that the second-year corner takes a back seat in the primary rotation early on. Of course, given how injuries inevitably rear their ugly heads during the season, he will get plenty of opportunities to prove himself. It might just be a bumpy ride initially, giving fans some major Anthony Brown flashbacks where you will likely see him jump a route for a big play on one series, only to surrender a deep shot or draw a costly penalty on the very next drive. The good news is that the upside is absolutely there to overshadow the deficiencies, making it a matter of when, not if, he puts it all together.
In the grand scheme of the defense, the depth of the Cowboys’ cornerback room should allow him to continue to develop. If he can learn to trust his feet instead of his grip, he can take a positive step forward. The talent is there. And now that the knee is finally healthy, the trajectory is pointing straight up.
