Schottenheimer Has High Hopes for DeMarvion Overshown in 2026

There’s a version of this story where DeMarvion Overshown becomes a cautionary tale of a talented linebacker who couldn’t stay healthy long enough to cash in.

But Overshown isn’t writing that story.

And the Cowboys can’t afford for him to.

Dallas needs its defense to stop being the loudest conversation in the room every spring the last few years. The sniping starts before the previous season’s film is cold.

The secondary gets dissected. The pass rush gets second-guessed.

And linebacker, the engine room of any good defense, doesn’t get nearly enough attention as a root cause.

A healthy Overshown changes that conversation. But only if he stays on the field.

He’s entering his fourth season with just 19 career games played. That’s how brutal the injuries have been.

Yet at the Reliant home run derby recently, he made his mindset crystal clear.

“It’s football for me,” Overshown said. “Contract year or not, I have to come out here and play my best. I was going to go out there and ball regardless.

“That’s for other people to really figure out, I’m going to go do my part, make sure I’m on the field for 17-plus [games] and the money will take care of itself.”

That’s not a guy distracted by negotiations. That’s exactly the kind of focus this defense needs.

From Three Torn Ligaments to a Fresh Start

In December 2024, Overshown had surgery to repair the ACL, MCL and PCL in his right knee — three ligaments at once. It cost him most of 2025.

He returned for six games in the second half of the year, a personal victory, but six games doesn’t quiet the critics in Dallas. Before that, a torn ACL in his left knee wiped out his entire 2023 rookie season.

When he has been healthy though, the production has been real. In 2024 before the knee gave out, Overshown put together 90 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, an interception and a touchdown.

That’s not a role player. That’s a linebacker who can take over a game.

The Cowboys defense has leaned on patchwork solutions at the position during his absences and that’s part of why the annual criticism keeps finding its target every offseason.

A full season of Overshown doesn’t just help, it changes the math entirely.

Schottenheimer’s Vote of Confidence

Coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked on January 1 how big a leap Overshown could make in 2026.

“I hope it’s big,” he said. Then he kept going.

“We all know the impact he can have. The type of young man he is and the way that he prepares and works — I love his play style but I love his leadership.”

He added that a full offseason “should have him very excited because of the potential and the talent and the drive and work ethic.” Then came the closer: “I think he’s made of the right stuff.”

Coaches don’t say things like that about players they aren’t counting on heavily. Schottenheimer is trying to build something in Dallas and Overshown is clearly a cornerstone of it.

What’s Actually at Stake

Overshown now has David Mulugheta as his agent and a contract year ahead of him.

Dallas will factor the injury history into negotiations, that’s just the business. If he plays 17 games and the defense tightens up around him, that leverage shifts fast and the volume on the offseason noise drops with it.

The mentality is there. The talent has always been there.

Now Overshown’s body has to show up for a full season.

If it does, this defense stops being a punchline and starts being a problem for opposing offenses.

That’s the version of this story everyone in Dallas is hoping gets written in 2026.