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Potential Steelers First Round Cornerback Target Gives Medical Update
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- Potential Steelers First Round Cornerback Target Gives Medical Update
Shavon Revel, East Carolina Athletics
Cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., a potential Pittsburgh Steelers pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, is expected to be healthy in time to start the 2025 season, his doctor said in a letter to teams last week.
One of the consensus top cornerbacks in the draft class, Revel suffered a major knee injury in October while playing with East Carolina. He subsequently underwent ACL reconstruction surgery, leading to questions about his health heading into the 2025 offseason.
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Revel was unable to accept an invite to the Senior Bowl, and will not be participating in drills at the 2025 NFL Combine this week in Indianapolis , but his surgeon said that he should be medically cleared in time for his first training camp.
"He is on schedule for full return to play this summer," Dr. Daniel Cooper wrote, as reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network . "When he reports to an NFL team after the 2025 draft, he will be cleared for all strength and conditioning activities and individual running and cutting drills as a defensive back. He will not be cleared for participation with the team until training camp. This is routine for the protocol after ACL reconstruction in football."
Teams aren't just going to take his doctor's word for it. NFL clubs will get their own chance to medically examine Revel this week in Indianapolis. Injuries frequently cause players to slide down draft boards, and that has been the case with Revel.
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Once a consensus first round pick in the teens, he has fallen to No. 31 on the NFL Mock Draft Database big board and appears to be in danger of falling out of the first round altogether. We'll see how the medical evaluation at the combine impacts his draft standing going forward.
The Steelers have an obvious need at cornerback, with both starting outside corner Donte Jackson and slot corner Cam Sutton both scheduled to hit free agency in March.
But the Steelers also have significant other draft needs, including defensive tackle, wide receiver and running back. That, combined with a bumper crop of available free agents at cornerback , could lead the Steelers to find their solutions at cornerback before the 2025 NFL Draft in late April.
Under general manager Omar Khan and assistant general manager and draft guru Andy Weidl, the Steelers have not been a team that has shied away from players dealing with injuries. Over the last two classes, tackle Troy Fautanu , cornerback Cory Trice , tight end Darnell Washington and linebacker Payton Wilson have all fallen to the Steelers in the draft, in part because of injury concerns.
Shavon Revel, East Carolina Athletics
Revel, 22, played three seasons at ECU and two before that at a junior college. The 6-foot-3, 193-pound cornerback established himself as one of the top cornerbacks in this draft class in 2023, recording 54 tackles, 13 passes defended and in interception in 12 games while earning a second-team All-AAC nod.
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Despite the opportunity to transfer up, Revel returned to ECU for his redshirt senior season in 2024, but suffered the ACL injury in practice and missed all but three games. He could have requested a sixth season of collegiate eligibility, but instead declared for the 2025 NFL Draft.
The consensus top two cornerbacks in the class are Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter and Michigan cornerback Will Johnson. Both are expected to be top-five picks, with Hunter having a decent chance to go No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans .
After that, there is a group of three cornerbacks that have clustered near the back of the first round, including Revel, Notre Dame's Benjamin Morrison , who is also coming off a season-ending injury, and Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron .
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