​OXNARD, Calif. – Understandably … there’s a lot of hype surrounding Dallas Cowboys second-year cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. Revel was a consensus first-round talent before tearing his ACL in his final season at East Carolina but fell to Dallas in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft following the devastating injury. Now seemingly back to full health, Revel enters the 2026 season with high expectations under Christian Parker, who helped develop First-Team All-Pro defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in Philadelphia.The logic is sound. Revel is a great talent who will have one of the best resources for his positional group in the league helping him every step of the way. But no one would be “surprised” if Revel broke out. READ MORE: Cowboys Camp: Can Secondary Answer Tough Questions?The emergence of Donovan Ezeirauku, Ryan Flournoy or Jaydon Blue wouldn’t be all that shocking, either. These are guys that have flashed and, as they grow, will be put in better positions to succeed. They’re also all being mentioned as … “surprise” … breakout candidates. If everyone is expecting a breakout, how is it surprising?That’s why the actual “surprise” riser might just be Caelen Carson. … who is trying to keep pace in what we say is the No. 1 starting-position competition here at camp, all part of our Cowboys Training Camp Notebook …’THE SEATBELT’: Carson, 24, is entering his third season as a Cowboy but hasn’t had an abundance of opportunities to truly prove his worth. … or to live up to that cool nickname.His rookie season was cut short by a shoulder injury that landed him on injured reserve, and he spent his second year on a 2025 Dallas defense … which wasn’t exactly conducive to anyone’s development.Still … you can pinpoint moments and plays in each of the Cowboys’ last two seven-win campaigns where Carson displayed a sneak peek of his true potential. There have just always been obstacles standing in Carson’s way. September will mark the beginning of Carson’s first season in which, barring another unfortunate injury, he can simply go out and compete.READ MORE: Cowboys Camp, Receivers: Surprise Storyline Coming In Dak Prescott Offense?No secondary teammates creating off-field distractions. No confusing scheme. And … hopefully … no revolving door at cornerback in a negative way.Parker’s arrival at The Star should have a massive impact on Revel and Caleb Downs, but the Cowboys’ hotshot coordinator won’t influence only the two players with the consensus-highest ceilings.DaRon Bland, *if healthy*, should be better than what we’ve seen since he led the league in interceptions while breaking the pick-six record in 2023. Free agent addition Cobie Durant should become more disciplined, allowing him to erase some of his man-to-man inconsistency.Jalen Thompson should emerge as one of the most versatile defensive playmakers in the NFL after being a fringe top-10 safety in Arizona. Parker’s vision will eventually reach every corn