The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of work to do this offseason when it comes to fixing their defense. The hope is that with two first-round picks, a new defensive coordinator, and plenty of cap space, they can get back to being a respectable unit. That seems reasonable, especially if Christian Parker lives up to the hype.
But in order for the Cowboys to truly fix this unit, they need more players on the current roster to simply play better. That seems very rudimentary, but it’s the truth. If just a couple of players can get back to their usual standard, the defense should take off.
And one of those players is none other than DeMarvion Overshown, who is set to enter a contract year.
Cowboys badly need DeMarvion Overshown to return to his 2024 form
The 2024 season was the breakout for Overshown, who returned from a torn ACL during the 2023 preseason. Overshown quickly became one of the biggest playmakers on the field for Dallas, and it felt like he was on his way to stardom. But a multi-ligament knee injury against the Bengals put that on hold.
Overshown miraculously returned to the field later in the 2025 season and quickly became the team’s best linebacker. He didn’t look like the 2024 version of himself, but that is entirely reasonable considering how gruesome the injury he suffered was. But the good news is that he finished the 2025 season healthy and will have a full offseason to prepare for 2026, which is now his contract year.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, Dalton Wasserman wrote about the top breakout candidate for each team going into the 2026 offseason. For the Cowboys, that player was none other than Overshown. Here is what Wasserman had to say about the former Texas star:
"Overshown returned from a devastating knee injury that ended his 2024 season to produce a respectable 67.4 PFF overall grade across 218 snaps in 2025. Dallas has now seen nearly 1,000 snaps of solid play from Overshown across his first two seasons. Dallas needs all the defensive help it can get, and the team should be able to rely on a healthy Overshown to improve the unit in 2026."
The biggest thing for Overshown here is that he’s healthy, and that should instantly make fans feel better about his long-term outlook. But this will also be the best group of defensive tackles that he’s ever played behind in his career, and that should allow him to have more opportunities to make plays.
Overshown’s strength is his ability to run sideline to sideline, and having defensive tackles who can eat up blocks should only help him be more effective. The hope is that Parker’s scheme will also be beneficial to Overshown and help him grow as a player, much like it did for Zack Baun over the last few years.
If Overshown can return to the level he played at during the 2024 season, the Cowboys should instantly improve on defense.
Having a dominant linebacker with his type of athleticism and coverage skills can be franchise-changing. Dallas desperately needs Overshown to have that breakout season if they want this defense to be a league-average unit in 2026.