At this point in Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown‘s career, the assumption is, as bad as it sounds, that the longer he stays on the field, the more likely it is he’s going to get hurt.
Overshown, for all his talent, has been missing for almost the entirety of his 1st 3 NFL seasons due to injuries — a pair of catastrophic knee injuries that have cost him 32 out of a possible 51 regular-season games.
Still, what fans did get to see in the 1 sort-of full season Overshown got to play in 2024 has been enough to keep expectations for him sky-high, and CBS Sports NFL reporter Zach Pereles tabbed him as the most likely “Breakout Candidate” for the Cowboys in 2026.
“Amid a dismal 2024 season for Dallas, DeMarvion Overshown was a bright spot, registering 90 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks, and a pick-six in just 13 games,” Pereles wrote. “The third-round pick from 2023 looked to be coming into his own and then some after missing all of his rookie year with a torn ACL. Then he suffered another brutal injury — torn ACL, MCL and PCL — near the end of the year. He returned for six games last year. Perhaps the injuries have taken too much of a toll, but a year-plus removed from the injury, he can be the athletic, talented playmaker the Cowboys desperately need at linebacker.”
Overshown Still on ESPN List of Top Top Inside LBs
It was a bit shocking to see Overshown land on ESPN’s annual lists of the Top 10 players at every position, at No. 8 on its list of the best off-ball linebackers before the 2025 season.
Overshown suffered his second season-ending knee injury in 3 years in Week 14 of the 2024 season against the Cincinnati Bengals, tearing his ACL, PCL, and MCL.
Overshown was in the middle of a breakout season and through 13 games had 90 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 8 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 4 pass deflections, and 1 interception returned for a touchdown.
Overshown tore his ACL in the second preseason game of his rookie year in 2022. Following his 2024 injury, he told The Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins he could rejoin the Cowboys in Week 13 for their Thanksgiving Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs. — and that was the game he returned.
“Overshown needed only 12 NFL games to convince a healthy number of voters that he’s a high-impact linebacker,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote in July 2025. “Multiple voters have serious concerns about whether Overshown can maintain a consistent NFL career because of the damage already done.”
Overshown Made Position Switch In College
Overshown, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, moved from safety to linebacker at the University of Texas, where he earned All-Big 12 honors with a career high 96 tackles in 2022.
The Cowboys drafted Overshown in the third round (No. 90 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft after he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds at the NFL scouting combine. He signed a 4-year, $5.39 million rookie contract.
“Former safety turned linebacker who has slowly but surely improved his feet and recognition over the last three seasons,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Overshown before the 2023 draft. “Whether playing inside or outside, Overshown will need to get stronger and more effective at taking on blockers and tackling with security.”
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