Matt Eberflus has an obvious decision to make thanks to Cowboys rookie’s performance in win over Raiders

Shavon Revel Jr. had a better debut than expected in Week 11.

Mauricio Rodriguez — Dallas Cowboys News Writer
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Sep 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on the sideline during the first quarter at AT&T Stadium.
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On Monday night, Dallas Cowboys’ third-round rookie cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. finally got a chance to play football. It was his first real game action since Sep. 14, 2024. After watching the film, one thing is clear. He looked like he never stopped playing.

Now granted, it was the Raiders offense—which is regarded as one of the worst in the NFL this season. On top of that, Revel Jr.’s snap count was low at 32%. But it was still a very promising debut and one that sets up DC Matt Eberflus to make an easy decision: Revel Jr. needs to stay on the field moving forward. That’s how good he played.

Let’s dive into some of the things that stuck out from watching his film.

Shavon Revel Jr. played great football

The majority of Revel Jr.’s workload came as a boundary cornerback—the corner to the short side of the field, often seen as the most “isolated” area on the field—whenever DaRon Bland worked in the slot. He showed up in several ways. Three plays stood out, which are shown in the tweet below.

  • In the first play, the Cowboys rookie matches up with his wide receiver in press and his sticky coverages forces Geno Smith to move on to the checkdown to the same side of the field. Revel Jr. quickly diagnoses this and disengages from his man to take just the right angle to shut down what could have been a big gain for Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty. Revel Jr.’s IQ and acceleration stand out on what seems like a simple play.
  • The second play shows Revel Jr. in press once again, this time against TE Michael Mayer. Despite his bigger opponent, he does a great job being physical and smart using his inside leverage to squeeze Mayer into the sideline and give Geno Smith little room to work with. There’s a lot of contact, but Revel Jr.’s head is looking at the ball the whole time and at the last moment, he turns his body toward the football and attacks the ball, which helps keep a flag from being thrown on the field.
  • The third play isn’t a target towards Revel Jr.’s direction but it’s a display of his closing speed. He lines up about eight yards away from the line of scrimmage, and the Raiders WR breaks inside on a crosser. But Shavon is there in no time as he accelerates and gets on top of his receiver. The play goes for a big gain elsewhere but the rookie showing off his speed is particularly important given he’s coming back from a knee injury.

Cowboys CB room is becoming an intriguing one

I’m convinced Revel Jr. needs to be on the field as much as possible. Not only did he look very promising in Week 11 but he’ll be huge for the Cowboys’ plans beyond this season. He needs the reps.

There appear to be two ways for him to get on the field. Either the Cowboys keep DaRon Bland on the inside to use second-year player Caelen Carson and Revel Jr. outside, or Bland stays outside with Revel Jr. while either Carson or Reddy Steward man the nickel. On Monday, Carson surprisingly played 100% of the snaps so they will probably be competing for playing time.

But with the way Revel Jr. played Monday, 429 days since his list time playing a regular season game, there’s no way he shouldn’t be on the field as much as possible moving forward.

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