Injuries have repeatedly interrupted the Dallas Cowboys' linebacker DeMarvion Overshown's availability since his rookie season. Now, one NFL analyst believes there is renewed optimism as Overshown enters the 2026 season fully healthy.

ESPN's Ben Solak identified Overshown as the Cowboys' breakout candidate for the 2026 season, predicting the linebacker is poised for a breakout year.

"This is less of a breakout and more of a re-breakout," Ben Solak of ESPN wrote. "As he gets further away from the injury, he'll hopefully recover the top speed that allowed him to play sideline to sideline and trigger quickly on those behind-the-line opportunities."

Ben Solak of ESPN believes that Overshown built his reputation on speed and his ability to cover sideline-to-sideline as a weakside linebacker and expects him to get back to his 2024 form.

Overshown missed his rookie season in 2023 after suffering a torn ACL during a preseason game with the Seattle Seahawks.

"When he returned to action in Week 1 of 2024, he was so ridiculously fast on an otherwise slow Cowboys defense that it was impossible not to notice him," Solak wrote.

He posted 90 tackles (56 solo), five sacks, eight tackles for loss, and four passes defended across 13 games in 2024.

Overshown tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL during a Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, sidelining him for the rest of the 2024 season, and also missing games till Week 10 of the 2025 season.

Solak also notes that Overshown "did not look like himself" after he returned in 2025 post-surgery during the Week 11 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Across two seasons, Overshown has posted a total of 118 tackles (71 solo), four passes defended, nine tackles for loss, and five sacks for 19 games played since 2024.

As Overshown is expected to regain his pre-injury form, the Cowboys are also counting on him to take on a much larger leadership role under the new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker.

Christian Parker entrusts Overshown with a major defensive role

Overshown is set to move to the middle of the field as an MIKE linebacker and also wear a green dot, giving him more control of the entire defense.

"I'm not just coming from 'Okay, I need you to take care of this side of the field, and we're going to be good," Overshown said, according to Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com. "No, you put me in the middle so I can take care of both sides of the field. I'm excited to have that role."

Overshown believes that he is the perfect fit for the role, though he hasn't played as the MIKE linebacker before. He expressed confidence in gaining more tackles from both directions of the field.

Now healthy and entrusted with the green dot, Overshown enters 2026 with an opportunity to establish himself as both the centerpiece and the leader of the Cowboys' revamped defense.

What are your thoughts on DeMarvion Overshown in the 2026 season? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Rudra Dubey