FRISCO, Texas -- The question was posed to coach Brian Schottenheimer in the final week of the Dallas Cowboys' 2025 season.
What kind of jump can linebacker DeMarvion Overshown make in 2026 after being limited to six games last season while recovering from December 2024 surgery to repair the ACL, MCL and PCL in his right knee?
"I hope it's big," coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Jan. 1. "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. And I think ... having a full offseason is something that should have him very excited because of the potential and the talent and the drive and work ethic and all of those things. I think he's made of the right stuff."
The Cowboys are in the middle of their voluntary offseason program -- organized team activities don't start until June 1 and the mandatory minicamp isn't until June 16 -- but Overshown can already see a benefit he did not have last year or during the 2024 offseason when he was recovering from a torn ACL in his other knee.
"Training to get back from an injury, it's like you're trying to get back to the square one," Overshown said. "You're training to get back to just even. I feel like when I'm healthy and I'm getting the same work as everybody else and I got the same opportunities to work as everybody else, can't nobody outwork me, can't nobody do what I do on the field when I'm healthy.
"So not having to train just to rehab my knee, but actually training football coming into the season, I feel like everybody haven't even seen me."
In those six games last season (218 snaps), Overshown was credited with 35 tackles, one tackle for loss and two quarterback pressures. He was solid, but understandably not as dynamic as he was in the 13 games he played in 2024 when he had 95 tackles, five sacks, three tackles for loss, 16 quarterback pressures, four pass breakups, one forced fumble and one interception, which he returned 23 yards for a touchdown.
But there was a promise former defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus saw that allowed him to think of what Overshown could do in 2026.
"I think he can be outstanding. I think Overshown is a heckuva talent," Eberflus said late last season. "I think he's got that 'Will' linebacker quickness and instincts and striking ability and speed to be able to cover running backs, tight ends and cover space. That's where he is. And I think he's a playmaker. I think he's got a heckuva future."
The present now belongs to new defensive coordinator Christian Parker and linebackers coach Scott Symons. The on-field work is only two weeks old, but Overshown can see a vision for how he will be used.
"I'm not just parked somewhere expected to make a play on the other side of the field," Overshown said. "It's some stuff schemed up for me and some stuff where I'm supposed to be in the fits every play ... I'm excited for the role I got."
Entering his fourth season and healthy, Overshown feels the need to lead a linebacker room that has largely been made over. Only he, Shemar James and Justin Barron return from last year with Marist Liufau moving to the edge and James and Barron entering just their second seasons. During the draft, the Cowboys traded for veteran Dee Winters and added Jaishawn Barham in the third round.
He said the energy is different.
"We got a standard that we're gonna hold ourselves to and we want to be the best unit on the team," Overshown said. "In order to do that you gotta have energy within the meeting room. People gotta want to be there, to want to learn, to want to get better."
That's why Overshown's health is of utmost importance. He has played only 19 of a possible 51 regular-season games because of his knee injuries. He is entering a contract year and knows the more he can play, the better his future will be. The brace he wore last year is gone forever, he said.
"I feel like everybody knows when I'm healthy, like, I'm one of the best linebackers in the league," Overshown said. "And that's not to toot of my own horn, but the film and the stats speak for itself when I'm on the field. So being healthy is the No. 1 way to stay on the field and be able to do what I do.
"So the fact that I get to go through the full offseason as a healthy man and coming into training camp healthy, I feel like people ain't seen my best yet. So I know it's going to be one of my best years."