Shavon Revel Jr- 6 Things To Know About Eagles Draft Prospect

You would not think Cornerback would be a big need for the Eagles a year after they struck gold twice in the last draft with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Yet, here we are. Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers aren't here anymore. Leaving Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks as their only options as the other outside corner. Leaving many to think the Eagles might dip back into the cornerback well this draft. If they do, Shavon Revel Jr is a name Eagles fans will want to know. Especially since his story sounds like something out of a movie script.

Shavon Revel JR is pretty much the model you would base the ideal CB on. 6ft2, 190 lbs, with speed to boot.

Revel did not participate in the NFL Combine drills, nor did he do drills at the ECU Pro Day. He is still recovering from a torn ACL and could not participate. But he did run a 4.4 40-yard Dash at an ECU Tryout. That speed is clear when you watch him. A common word scouts use to describe him is explosive. His speed allows him to make up more mistakes.

Athleticism is one thing, but you need to know how to use that athleticism too. But Revel has shown in his limited college experience that he does not just have the tools, he knows how to use them. In 2023 he held opposing QBs to a 45.2% completion rate and a passer rating of only 62.6. He allowed only 19 catches for 250 yards. He came away with just 1 interception but did have 12 pass breakups.

His forced incompletion rate of 26% in 2023 ranked just behind Quinyon Mitchell.

How did he follow up that 2023 season? It looked like he was going to play even better. In 3 games he held QBs to a rating of 48.8 and a completion rate of 38.1%. He also doubled his interceptions from 2023 in a quarter of the games, to go along with 2 PBUs.

But then it all ended. A torn ACL ended his season before it got going. As mentioned, that torn ACL kept him from doing any drills in the combine or the ECU Pro Day. Which is a shame for him, because those chances to show off his athleticism likely would have skyrocketed his stock.

Unfortunately, the torn ACL is not the only time injuries plagued his career. He fractured his skull in a car crash his sophomore year of high school. A broken collarbone ended his junior season of high school. Then a hand injury limited him throughout his 1st season at ECU.

A lot of that is bad luck. But the injury history needs to be something any team interested in him considers

Most prospects going into the draft are 20 or 21 years old. Shavon Revel meanwhile just turned 24. He is only 4 days younger than Jalen Carter, who will be going into his 3rd NFL season. He is older than every corner currently on the Eagles roster besides Adoree Jackson. Mitchell, DeJean, and Ringo are 22, and Eli Ricks is 23.

Cornerback is already a position thought to have a shorter shelf life. The position is so reliant on being an elite athlete, it is hard to maintain that once you hit 30. Some CBs buck that trend, see Darius Slay. But others like James Bradberry can go from an All-Pro to being unplayable in one off-season.

Revel will hit 30 sooner than the Eagles' current options at corner will. So the question is if his high upside is worth a potentially shorter shelf life.

The fact he has sustained so many major injuries does not inspire confidence he would be the type of CB to buck the trend and maintain elite athleticism into his mid-30s. He is going to be 29 by the time he hits free agency, 28 if he is not a 1st round pick. It is something you have to consider when evaluating him.

ESPN recently wrote an article about how Revel became a star in East Carolina. It is well worth a read, and feels like something that is Revel succeeds in his NFL dreams could one day be a really sappy sports movie.

Revel was a high school two-way standout. As we discussed earlier, he was an elite athlete. Someone like that should have been swimming in D1 offers. But he had none. He was not academically eligible, and thus could not go to a D1 school. He had to enroll at DIII Louisberg. He sat out the 2020 season because of the pandemic and played in only 6 games in 2021.

But Revel got a lifeline. After getting off a 10-hour shift at Amazon, he and his dad took a 2-hour trip to East Carolina to try out. Despite being "tired as hell" he blew East Carolina away.

They were ready to make him an offer. But they told him first, he still needed to get his grades up. That was all Revel needed to hear. He promised he would get his grades up to at least a 2.5 GPA, and he kept that promise. Making him once again academically eligible, and letting him enroll at ECU

Shavon Revel Jr had a lot of chances to move to a higher-profile school. Even before he got to ECU. After he turned heads at the ECU camp, he was getting other D1 offers. Especially in the NIL Era, Revel had a big chance to cash in, and no one could have blamed him. There were 6 figure NIL offers to play for some of the biggest schools in the NCAA.

He listened to those offers, but he decided to stay at the school that gave him the chance to play D1 Football when no one else would.

Quinyon Mitchell did the same thing at Toledo. No one could reasonably blame a young college athlete for taking the money. That type of deal could be life-changing before you ever make it to the NFL. Most of us would jump at the chance to go to a new job if we were getting a pay jump that massive.

But there is something to be said for the loyalty both Revel and Mitchell showed. And if he stuck at ECU because they were the ones who gave him the chance to play in College, maybe whatever team that drafts him will also have an easier time resigning him 4-5 years from now.