After two season-ending knee injuries in three years, Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown enters the 2026 season with a rare endorsement from an NFL scout.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler ranked the “top-10 NFL off-ball linebackers” for the 2026 season and gave Overshown an honorable mention.

"He moves like a safety. Incredibly talented. I want to see how he does this year after the injuries,” according to an NFL Scout, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Fowler wrote in his ESPN article that Overshown plays like a "safety", highlighting his speed and ability to cover sideline-to-sideline (as a weakside LB), which he has developed from his background of playing as a safety at the University of Texas. 

Overshown officially made his NFL debut in 2024, after missing his rookie season in 2023 due to an ACL tear he suffered during a preseason game.

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

But his availability was tested again as he suffered an ACL, MCL, and PCL tear during the Week 15 game of the 2024 season, sidelining him for the rest of the season. 

Overshown was reactivated during the Week 11 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025, in which he played for 6 games.

Now, the star LB is set to play as a MIKE linebacker and take up the responsibility of wearing a green dot in his contract year.

"I've been wanting to be MIKE for the longest, since my rookie year," Overshown said, per Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com. "I felt like it was going to come to a time when I wore the "C" on my chest, and I had the green dot, and now I've got it. I'm excited." 

After undergoing two major surgeries on his knee within a span of two years, Overshown is not deterred by the leadership role. Instead, he boasted confidence about having "the best knees in the NFL", as he heads into the training camp fully healthy.

Cowboys' linebacker battle extends beyond the starter

With the training camp set to begin on July 28, Brian Martin of Blogging the Boys listed middle linebacker as one of the positional battles to monitor in the camp.

"Who ends up starting at MLB and wearing the green dot is probably the biggest question mark for the Cowboys defense heading into training camp," Brian Martin of Blogging the Boys wrote in his article. "Right now, DeMarvion Overshown seems to be the favored option, but he’s had two separate season-ending knee injuries and missed 32 games in three years."

Martin further wrote that former San Francisco 49ers LB Dee Winters and 2026 third-round pick Jaishawn Barham are potential depth pieces behind Overshown.

While Overshown is the preferred starter in the inside linebacker position, Martin believes the Cowboys have to consider in-house and other outside options to "find the best solution possible."

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi