NFL Analysis
10/28/24
6 min read
Shavon Revel Jr. 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For East Carolina Pirates CB
Height: 6030 (unofficial)
Weight: 193 (unofficial)
Year: Fifth-Year Senior
Pro Comparison: Richard Sherman
Scouting Overview
East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. is an absolute dog. This is an uber-physical cornerback who dictates terms in every phase of the position — be that as a run support player on the edge, a tackler at the catch point in rally opportunities to the football, or playing press coverage or at the catch point.
Revel Jr. has the length, transitional quickness, and long-speed blend to be an alpha cornerback at the NFL level. He is coming off of an ACL tear suffered in practice for the Pirates in September of 2024, but provided the medicals check out, should be considered not just one of the top cornerback prospects eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft but one of the top defensive talents on the board period.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Prototypical stature and length to play press coverage and disrupt the catch point of receivers
- Has elite recovery and straight-line speed — illustrates ideal closing burst and second-gear
- Whopping tackler who provides jarring hits and consistent finishes
Negatives
- Coming off of an ACL tear in September of 2024
- Level of competition did not see Revel Jr. draw many high-level wide receivers at ECU
- Can be guilty of playing overly physical and grabby in coverage; flagged 11 total times in under 900 snaps at ECU
Background
Shavon Revel Jr. hails from Winston-Salem, NC, and played his high school football for a pair of programs in the state of North Carolina. A two-way player, Revel Jr. played his first three seasons of high school football for Reynolds HS before transferring to Reagan HS for his final prep season. He also lettered in track and field.
Revel Jr. was a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) but ultimately enrolled at the JUCO program Louisburg College for his true freshman and true sophomore seasons.
While playing at Louisburg, Revel Jr. famously worked shifts at an Amazon Warehouse to help make ends meet before driving overnight to partake in a prospect camp at ECU. With a 4.40s 40-yard dash and an 11-foot standing broad jump, Revel Jr. blew them out of the water.
Without much delay, Revel Jr. was offered a scholarship from the Pirates under the condition that he got his grades up. He obliged and quickly went on to be one of the most promising cornerback prospects in college football.
A torn ACL suffered in a “freak injury” at practice cost Revel Jr. most of his 2024 college season; he played in just three games on the year.
Tale of The Tape
Revel Jr. is one of the most tantalizing prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. The physical ability is electric in every application on the field. He moves faster than everyone else, he strikes harder than other defensive backs in tackle situations, and his ball skills yield ample ball production.
This is a player that feels like a future star in the pros.
Revel Jr. plays a bully brand of football on the perimeter. He’s got elite length and stature and offers heavy hands in press coverage. Revel Jr. has illustrated fluid hips to flip and open in transition out of the contact window, plus the ability to drop his hips and trigger with little delay when he’s playing overtop of quick game.
In press, his grip strength and upper-body strength allow him to ride receivers and funnel their releases, pinning them into favorable coverage leverage. Punch placement and timing can, of course, be refined. There are times when he struggles to let go through the contact window and will tempt officials to flag him for excessive contact or holding.
He frequently finds winning real estate at the catch point when playing in phase and will successfully attack the football in the air on such reps. If he had better hands, he’d likely have double or triple the career interceptions he posted at East Carolina.
He’s a hypercompetitive player not just in press coverage or at the catch point but also in run support. I love how he sticks his foot in the ground and attacks the edges. His size, burst, and length make him difficult to set hands-on as a skill player trying to pin or block him for outside runs, and he actually finishes tackles through blocking contact with impressive effectiveness as well. He’s an explosive striker with good length, which allows him to finish these opportunities and keep minimal yards after contact on the edge.
Revel Jr.’s competitiveness expands to some “dirty work” opportunities that will afford him more pathways to seeing the field as a young, unproven professional player. He played nearly 150 snaps on special teams at East Carolina, including a full gambit of roles on kickoff, kickoff return, punt, and punt return during his first season with the program.
From then on, he was utilized exclusively on field goal block teams, and his length contributed to multiple blocked kicks. Even if Revel Jr. ascends toward his ceiling as an NFL player, selectively giving him reps in the NFL should be taken into consideration.
Anticipation of route combinations and targets seemed to be an area of growth for Revel Jr. in 2024 before his season was unfortunately cut short by a torn ACL in practice after just three games. However, the sense of aggressiveness he offered in attacking breaks in front of his face put him in a position to undercut a number of throws going back to 2023 as well — offering several near misses of additional turnover opportunities.
This is one of the more dynamic athletes in the class, and hopefully, the September ACL tear will not have any negative effects on him moving forward.
Teams must vet and find comfort in his medical status, although his timeline for a pro day and athletic testing should be secondary to his recovery window to ensure he’s ready for football activities as soon as possible while at 100 percent.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Revel Jr. projects as a starting perimeter cornerback at the next level — and a quality starter. His physicality would be well unleashed in a scheme unafraid of playing press coverage. His ball skills have flashed in occurrences of playing man coverage with his back to the quarterback or, alternatively, in zone coverage.
Grade: 85.50/100.00, First Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
