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Before we move to the media grades for the individual picks, here are a few draft summaries placing the Cowboys among the winners of Day Two.
For The Win declares the Cowboys the winners of the night.
The Cowboys had the best night of any team in the NFL on night two of the 2025 NFL Draft, adding Boston College outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku and East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. Both of those guys have starter ceilings, and Dallas didn’t have to trade up to get either guy. Awesome stuff, Jerry World.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranks the Cowboys among the biggest winners of the night.
OK, here’s some good value. Ezeiruaku was No. 23 on my board. Dallas got him halfway through Round 2. Ezeiruaku led the FBS in pressures last season with 65, and he had 16.5 sacks. Simply put, he gets after the quarterback. The Cowboys now have Micah Parsons, Dante Fowler Jr. and Ezeiruaku coming off the edge, so they will once again put up some strong sack numbers. Ezeiruaku isn’t going to help much against the run, but he’s going to feast on NFC passers on third down when he can pin his ears back.
Dallas kept going on defense. Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland are both capable cornerbacks with elite ball skills, but they have both dealt with injuries. Plus, the Cowboys lost reliable slot corner Jourdan Lewis in free agency. So, Revel should contribute. He tore his ACL in 2024, which caused his stock to fall a little. But he’s long and fast, and like Diggs and Bland, he makes plays on the ball. He looked like a first-rounder early in the 2024 season before the injury, so this is nice value for my No. 55 prospect. I actually had him projected to Dallas in the three-round mock draft that Field Yates and I did two weeks ago — one round earlier.
I was critical of the Cowboys’ approach to Round 1, reaching for guard Tyler Booker at No. 12. But this was a good recovery.
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA Today includes Jerry Jones among his list of winners from the draft.
Time to give one of the draft’s more maligned decision-makers his due. Jones drew heavy scrutiny for utilizing the No. 12 overall pick on offensive guard Tyler Booker despite the Dallas Cowboys’ foreboding outlook at receiver. But on Friday, he scooped up two of arguably the best prospects available after Day 1 in edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku and cornerback Shavon Revel Jr.
As one of the draft’s most polished and crafty pass rushers, Ezeiruaku should be able to wield his extensive arsenal of moves into an early impact opposite Micah Parsons. Revel, meanwhile, has the length and playmaking prowess of a first-rounder, but a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in September likely weighed down his stock. With those two in tow, Jones found a happy medium between embracing coach Brian Schottenheimer’s desire to build outside in and maintaining a true best player available mentality.
Even NBC Sports BayArea has the Cowboys among its list of winners.
Some poked fun at the Dallas Cowboys for taking yet another offensive lineman in the first round, but they made some possible sneaky good picks in the second and third rounds. With one pick in each, Dallas first took EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku of Boston College. If it pans out, he could be its next big-name rusher. In the third, the Cowboys added cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. of East Carolina, and he could compete for CB2 right away. Dallas needed defensive reinforcements from last season, and they attempted to address it. Next is adding improved skill players.
Pick 44. Donovan Ezeiruaku, DE, Boston College
The Athletic: A
A three-year starter at Boston College, Ezeiruaku was an outside edge rusher (left and right) in defensive coordinator Tim Lewis’ 4-3 base scheme (lined up mostly as a stand-up defender, with 99.7 percent of his snaps coming wide of the tackle as a 7- or 9-tech). After leading the team in sacks and tackles for loss as a sophomore and junior, he became the 13th consensus All-American in school history as a senior and finished top three in the FBS in both sacks (16.5) and tackles for loss (20.5).
As a pass rusher, Ezeiruaku is more “dip-and-rip” than he is a force player, with his natural feel for depth points and the different ways he uses jab steps and cross-chops to soften the corner. He can be overwhelmed at times against the run but flashes the length to get into an opponent’s pads, lock out and stalemate at the point of attack, especially on the move. Overall, Ezeiruaku is a tad light for a stack-and-shed edge setter. But rushing the passer is his calling card, and he has the arc acceleration, body flexibility and long, active arms to break down the balance of blockers. He has NFL starter-level talent, and his tape says he is more than a DPR (designated pass rusher).
The Cowboys fill an important need for a pass-rusher with a borderline first-round talent. Ezeiruaku is a sleek, tough presence with high upside. He can be an impact sack artist on passing downs early before settling into a starting job.
ProFootballFocus: Elite
Situated at No. 17 on the PFF Big Board, Ezeiruaku profiles as a significant value for the Cowboys here. The Boston College standout maintains a solid grading profile, particularly against true pass sets, where he clocked the most snaps of any edge rusher in the 2025 class (196), earning a 90.7 PFF grade and a 25.8% pass-rush win rate.
Ezeiruaku entered the night as one of the best value picks and the Cowboys get a steal here. He’s arguably most pro-ready pass rusher thanks to his array of pass rush moves. He doesn’t win with power but uses his bend, burst and length to get after the quarterback.
USA Today: A-
Ezeiruaku should pair well with elite outside linebacker Micah Parsons to give Dallas some real pop off the edge. With DeMarcus Lawrence in Seattle, the Cowboys had a need on the defensive line. Ezeiruaku will give Dallas really nice speed on the front seven, and the value of getting him here when he had first-round buzz is really nice for Jerry Jones and company.
SBNation: A-
I was always a massive fan of Ezeiruaku, a bendy and twitchy edge defender who has the length to be an even better run defender. Dallas’ pass rush is still a question mark with Demarcus Lawrence in Seattle and Marshawn Kneeland coming off a knee injury, so grabbing Ezeiruaku here is going to give the Cowboys two speedy pass rushers off the edge.
CBSSports: A-
After first-round buzz, this is the right value for the Boston College star. Huge sack numbers that didn’t align with his pressure rate in 2024. Incredible hand work. Bendy, solid, albeit unspectacular burst. Fun complement to Micah Parsons. Fills a need too.
Once viewed as a first-round candidate, Donovan Ezeiruaku’s slide has finally ended, as the Cowboys have taken him with the 44th overall pick. This spot is a better reflection of Ezeiruaku’s value overall, and even here, there are questions to answer, but his immediate pass-rush dynamism is what sells the pick for the Cowboys.
At 6’2 ½” and 248 pounds, Ezeiruaku is a lighter EDGE prospect, who doesn’t have high-end speed-to-power or play strength in the run game. Those aspects complicate his projection and his usage alongside Micah Parsons and Dante Fowler.
But with his 34” arms, he does have a wide disruption radius on the rush, and his finesse, agility, bend, and proactive hands enable him to be a down-to-down disruptor on the attack.
Yahoosports: B+
Ezeiruaku is another player in this class who should be a strong addition to a Cowboys team trying to bolster its pass rush. He isn’t the biggest pass rusher out there (6-2 1/2, 248 pounds), but he’s quick, explosive and has a nice array of moves to get home. He had a fairly similar combine performance to former Boston College edge rusher Harold Landry III, who is a decent comparison for him moving to the pros.
Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, whom Dallas selected with this year’s 44th overall pick, does one thing, and he does it very, very well. Ezeiruaku is one of the class’ most gifted pass-rushers, although he may never be an every-down player because of his inadequacy against the run.
“I thought he was a monster [pass-rusher],” an anonymous collegiate offensive line coach told The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. “He’s got a lot of moves and counters to beat you with. I don’t think people talked enough about this kid considering how good he actually was.”
Pick 76: Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina
CBSSports: A+
If not for a torn ACL in September, Revel likely goes significantly higher than this. He’s a tall, long, big-time playmaker in man and zone coverage. Some stiffness when following routes from his backpedal, yet his makeup speed mitigated any of those issues at a smaller-school level. While not a huge striker, doesn’t miss many tackles. The Cowboys add another turnover creator at CB.
The Cowboys’ draft philosophy can sometimes be hit-or-miss, but this was a center hit, all the way past the fences. Shavon Revel Jr. was a top-25 prospect on my board, and assuming he’s on track for a full recovery from the torn ACL he suffered in September, he can be a high-level starter alongside Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, who’ll presumably shift back to the slot.
At 6’2”, 196 pounds, with over 32” arms, Revel has a truly hyper-elite combination of size and athleticism. He’s fast-moving in short areas and over long distances, with the closing explosiveness to hawk in front of ill-fated routes and the short-area twitch, fluidity, and physicality to smother WRs in press.
He may need an acclimation period after making the leap from a lower-level conference, but he has all the tools to be an impact starter in time.
Yahoosports: A+
Revel has first-round talent and the Cowboys got him mid-third. He’s a long, athletic corner with great ball skills. The only question mark is an ACL injury suffered last September.
SBNation: A
Another corner who has an injury issue, but if he’s cleared he can be a massive steal. Revel is long and physical at the line of scrimmage, and when healthy he can turn interceptions into touchdowns. This feels like a pick the Cowboys would make, taking a swing on a prospect with an injury. I think Revel can be really good if healthy, so I’m excited for this.
The Athletic: A
A two-year starter at East Carolina, Revel was the boundary corner in former defensive coordinator Blake Harrell’s quarters-based scheme. After grades forced him to go the junior college route out of high school, he drew East Carolina’s attention and later emerged as an NFL prospect (17 passes defended and three interceptions over his final 15 college starts). Unfortunately, a knee injury sidelined him for most of his senior season and the pre-draft process, which kept him from testing or working out for NFL teams before the draft.
With his size, speed and physicality, Revel changed East Carolina’s approach on defense, because of his press-man skill set — he uses his length to disrupt routes and explosiveness to stay attached. Though he does a great job playing through the hands of receivers, he is guilty of grabbing and holding too much, especially in off coverage. That issue should continue to fade as he hones his technique in the NFL. Overall, his durability will be questioned, understandably, but Revel is a boundary bully with terrific speed, length and ball-tracking skills. He has the talent of an NFL starter.
Revel slipped out of the first two rounds in the draft because he tore his ACL early in the 2024 season. When healthy, he is an elite athlete with ideal outside cornerback size (6-foot-2, 197 pounds) and length with a hard-hitting attitude in run defense. Dallas got another steal on Day 2.
The Cowboys go after some needed depth behind DaRon Bland and recovering Trevon Diggs in a big, smooth corner who got a bad break with a torn ACL to cut short his career with the Pirates. Revel uses his size and physicality well to make plays on the ball.
ProFootballFocus: Elite
Revel was the No. 44 player on the PFF big board, so his selection represents great value for the Cowboys at No. 76. Revel is a tall outside who earned a coverage grade above 80.0 in both 2023 and 2024.
Considering the current state of the Dallas Cowboys’ cornerbacks, East Carolina’s Shevon Revel Jr. is an ideal risk to take in the third round.
Day Two combined
NFL.com: A-
Ezeiruaku is a pure pass rusher with very good quickness and a devastating spin move. I believe he’s the next Demarcus Lawrence.
The Cowboys found a bargain in Revel, as well. I know he’s coming off an ACL tear, which is why he was still available in Round 3, but he has pro-caliber size and the ability to make plays on the football.
Now that you’ve had a (short) night to sleep over it, how do you feel about the Cowboys’ Day Two draft haul?
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