After a devastating injury, can DeMarvion Overshown fill the void left behind by Micah Parsons and anchor the Cowboys' defense in 2026?
The Dallas Cowboys traded franchise linebacker Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in August of this past year, and their pass-rush production took a hit as a result.
For the team to get back to the level of quarterback pressure they had, they will need someone to step up and fill the void left behind by the five-time Pro Bowler.
In a recent article by Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Network, he lists one player for every NFL team who he believes could be a breakout candidate in 2026. For the Cowboys, he thinks that player could be linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.
"Overshown returned from a devastating knee injury that ended his 2024 season to produce a respectable 67.4 PFF overall grade across 218 snaps in 2025," Wasserman writes. "Dallas has now seen nearly 1,000 snaps of solid play from Overshown across his first two seasons. Dallas needs all the defensive help it can get, and the team should be able to rely on a healthy Overshown to improve the unit in 2026.
The 25-year-old linebacker suffered a gruesome leg injury in the 2024 season against the Cincinnati Bengals that kept him out the rest of that season. It also kept him sidelined until Week 11 of the 2025 season, when he was finally able to get back on the field.
But in the games that he has been able to play, Overshown has been a bright spot on Dallas' defense.
In the 19 games that he has suited up in for the Cowboys, he has racked up 118 total tackles with 71 of them being solo. He has also shown his versatility with five sacks and even an interception that he took back to the house.
The Cowboys were third in the entire NFL in sacks with 52 in the 2024 season, and Parsons had 12 of them. They did not have that success in 2025, finishing near the bottom of the league with just 35 sacks.
If Dallas wants to be able to make those deep playoff runs that they know they can, someone is going to need to step up and be able to be an anchor on the defense end.
And that player very well could be Overshown.