Maybe the understanding of catastrophic knee injuries is much different inside NFL circles than it is to the rest of the outside world.
Either way, it was a bit shocking to see Dallas Cowboys star DeMarvion Overshown land on ESPN’s annual lists of the Top 10 players at every position at No. 8 on its list of the best off-ball linebackers — known by previous generations as inside linebackers.
Overshown suffered his second season ending knee injury in his first 3 seasons in Week 14 of the 2024 season against the Cincinnati Bengals, tearing his ACL, PCL and MCL.
Overshown was in the middle of a breakout season and through 13 games had 90 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 8 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 4 pass deflections and one interception returned for a touchdown.
Overshown tore his ACL in the second preseason game of his rookie year in 2022 and there’s been no timetable given for his return, although he told The Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins he could rejoin the Cowboys in Week 13 for their Thanksgiving Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
There’s been no official word from the Cowboys on when he might return.
“Overshown needed only 12 NFL games to convince a healthy number of voters that he’s a high-impact linebacker,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 15. “Multiple voters have serious concerns about whether Overshown can maintain a consistent NFL career because of the damage already done.”
San Francisco 49ers linebacker and 4-time NFL All-Pro Fred Warner, who has only missed 1 game in his first 5 seasons, was No. 1 in ESPN’s rankings for the second year in a row.
Overshown Made Position Switch In College
Overshown, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, moved from safety to linebacker at the University of Texas, where he earned All-Big 12 honors with a career high 96 tackles in 2022.
The Cowboys drafted Overshown in the third round (No. 90 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft after he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds at the NFL scouting combine. He signed a 4-year, $5.39 million rookie contract.
“Former safety turned linebacker who has slowly but surely improved his feet and recognition over the last three seasons,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Overshown before the 2023 draft. “Whether playing inside or outside, Overshown will need to get stronger and more effective at taking on blockers and tackling with security.”
Cowboys Have One Of NFL’s Weakest ILB Groups
It’s hard to feel much confidence when looking at the off ball linebackers currently on the roster. Even with Overshown in the fold, history tells us players coming off 2 major knee injuries in 3 years don’t usually return to their same level of production.
When the Cowboys roll out their starting defense on September 4 at the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the 3 starters at inside linebacker will likely be Kenneth Murray Jr., Jack Sanborn and Marist Liufau, who started 9 games as a rookie in 2024.
Murray and Sanborn were both offseason additions. Murray started 14 games for the Tennessee Titans in 2024 and was traded to the Cowboys on March 12.
Sanborn started 19 games over his first 3 seasons with the Chicago Bears and signed a 1-year, $1.5 million contract with the Cowboys the same day as the Murray trade.
