The Dallas Cowboys needed to inject some excitement and energy in their fan base after the selection of Luke Schoonmaker at No. 58 overall failed to move the needle. While folks were hoping for another offensive pick, Dallas added more excitement to their already-elite defense in the form of Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.
The Cowboys strangely don't have a propensity for drafting Longhorns. In fact, Overshown is the first Texas player taken by Dallas since Connor Williams in 2018. Overshown will be hoping to enjoy a longer stint in Dallas than Williams, who signed with the Dolphins last offseason at the end of his rookie contract.
Overshown is just the fourth Longhorn drafted by the Cowboys since Jerry Jones took ownership of the franchise in 1989.
The Cowboys have now taken three elite athletes with their first three selections, as Overshown recorded a stunning 8.18 relative athletic score.
DeMarvion Overshown is a LB prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 8.18 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 484 out of 2648 LB from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/m3ng0kIU5p pic.twitter.com/PnyAzWI4Kt
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 17, 2023
Cowboys add more firepower to Dan Quinn's defense in DeMarvion Overshown
The Cowboys are getting a blue-chip prospect in Overshown, who twice captained the Longhorns defense. He was influential in Texas' defensive turnaround last season, totaling 96 tackles, four sacks 46 defensive stops and 10 tackles for loss en route to becoming a first-team All-Big 12 selection.
In a vacuum, Overshown is an exciting development project for Dan Quinn. At 6-foot-3 and 229 pounds with speed to burn, Overshown was a highly touted safety recruit coming out of high school before he made the switch to linebacker at Texas.
That fits the mold of what Dallas has sought in its linebackers, as Jayron Kearse and Donovan Wilson both feast around the line of scrimmage.
Overshown projects more as an inside linebacker, but he offers positional versatility and special teams upside and fills a need as the Cowboys' linebacker depth chart was paper thin behind Leighton Vander Esch and Damone Clark coming into the draft.