DeMarvion Overshown was expected to be a solid player for the Dallas Cowboys in his rookie season a year ago, that was before he tore his ACL in the preseason.
Heading into year 2, the linebacker is returning at the right time for a coach who is perfect for him.
Overshown is on pace to be ready by training camp. Newly hired defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer could be the perfect coach to unleash his early potential.
Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay when asked about needing last year’s draft class (Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker, DeMarvion Overshown, Viliami Fehoko, etc.) to make a Year 2 jump:
“Those guys have to make a jump for us to succeed. They’ve been in the system for a year.…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 1, 2024
Zimmer’s Impact
Zimmer was one of the main reasons that Eric Kendricks decided to not sign with the 49ers and ink the deal with Dallas.
That and he knew he had a better chance to be the lead linebacker in the Cowboys locker room due to the lack of depth.
“That guy’s a true football guy, through and through,” Kendricks said of Zimmer. “He watches [game] film on his off days. He really enjoys it. It’s good to be back with him.
“He has a high standard of performance. He’s strict, personality-wise, but he always says, ‘You take care of me, I’ll take care of you.”
Overshown will have an even better opportunity to show what he’s got right away with the retirement of Leighton Vander Esch due to his neck.
With Zimmer’s defense, he has played more of a physical scheme that puts a stronger emphasis on stopping the run. To do that, you usually have bigger linebacker, and different alignments up front to neutralize the running game.
Another number change: Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown is now No. 13 (from 35). No Dallas player has worn 0 since the jersey assignment was allowed last year. Overshown stood best chance, having worn 0 at Texas. He settles for WR Michael Gallup's old number instead. https://t.co/Bke9TYsHB4
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) April 27, 2024
We know how bad this team was a season ago at stopping the run.
College Tape
With the injury happening in preseason last season, his college tape is still all we have on him.
in 2021 at the University of Texas, he had 54 tackles, one sack, two passes defended, two fumbles recovered, and one block. In 2022, he collected 96 tackles – 10 for a loss – four sacks and five passes defended.
His best game of his final campaign came against the Baylor Bears on Nov. 25th. He tormented the Bears with 14 tackles – two for a loss — and a sack in a 38-27 victory.
Overshown measured 6’3″ and 229lbs at the NFL Combine and ran a 4.56 in the 40.
That speed at his size may drop a bit after the ACL tear. But Zimmer is the right coach to have him hit his stride right off the jump.
It is no secret that the Dallas defense is not going to have the depth they did a year ago.
They lost a lot of defensive line guys to Dan Quinn in Washington when he took over the head coaching job earlier this offseason.
Jerry Jones said the Cowboys expect to better against the run because a different alignment on defense. He said they are already better at linebacker with Eric Kendricks and Overshown https://t.co/xUjCPwlhQs
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) March 24, 2024
Overshown is going to be needed to make an impact early as long as he is healthy, but as noted it sounds like everything is on track for him to be ready for training camp. A huge win.
“It’s been good, the recovery process and the rehab process with Britt,” Overshown said. “Everything’s been great. That’s why I’m really confident and how I’m gonna play this year.”
We will see how the rest of this offseason goes. The Cowboys have a lot of work to do if they want to be above average this season.
Zay Jones was in for a visit yesterday. He is now meeting with the Chiefs, it would have been nice to get another wide receiver in the room to help the offense.
They will have no running game. They are going to be very CeeDee Lamb depended.
The NFL schedule will be released next Wednesday. So we will see who the Cowboys play when, but this season could be a wrap by Thanksgiving if they aren’t careful.
