​Who do you think has the biggest breakout potential for the Dallas Cowboys this season? ESPN weighed in with their picks this week, and their choice for Dallas is both surprising and predictable in equal measure. It’s tough to pull off that double feat of being shocking and obvious at the same time, but it can be done.
DeMarvion Overshown, LB
This situation feels more like a re-breakout than a true breakout. Overshown missed his 2023 rookie year due to a torn ACL in the preseason. When he returned in Week 1 of 2024, he flashed the kind of elite speed that stood out on a defense otherwise dragging, drawing attention with his sideline-to-sideline range. Tragically, a torn ACL, MCL, and PCL ended his 2024 season just 13 weeks after his return, and the injury lingered into 2025.
After coming back last season in Week 11, Overshown did not look like himself. He recorded only one tackle for loss in six games after posting eight in 13 games during the 2024 campaign. NFL Next Gen Stats tracked him hitting top speeds above 19 mph seven times in 2024, but he never crossed that threshold in 2025. As he distances himself from the injury, there’s reason to believe he can regain that top-end speed and continue to be the kind of playmaker who can diagnose plays at the line and burst into the backfield to make disruptive plays.
To be clear, the Cowboys would benefit enormously from Overshown performing at his best. I’ve said before that his individual impact could alter the trajectory of the season more than any other player on the roster. ESPN’s framing of this pick as a “re-breakout” underscores the reality: while the 2024 stretch before the injury looked like an absolute breakout, that period stands out as an outlier in the arc of his professional career to date. It’s reasonable to hope the best version of Overshown becomes the baseline again, but there’s a nontrivial gap between that optimism and the more cautious reality of his injury history.
That said, overshown’s potential remains enticing. The Cowboys need him to return to, or surpass, the form that made him a standout in the early glimpses of 2024. If he does, the ripple effects across the defense could be significant—adding speed, versatility, and an extra thumper in the middle of the field. ESPN’s choice captures the excitement around a player who could, when healthy and fully ramped, be the kind of difference-maker that shifts defensive dynamics and, by extension, the team’s ceiling.
Still, there’s a healthy dose of skepticism that comes with betting on a player who has missed substantial time and fought through multiple injuries. The Cowboys may be better off hopeful that Overshown becomes the breakout engine, but prudent evaluation suggests it might be wiser to acknowledge that other players could more plausibly reach breakout status this season.
Other candidates to watch include Shavon Revel, whose athleticism and potential the Cowboys reportedly saw when they drafted him, and Jaishawn Barham, a rookie who could seize opportunities at linebacker as the season unfolds. The landscape for a breakout is open, and there will be a path for someone else to seize it if Overshown doesn’t fully recapture his prime.
Do you agree with DeMarvion Overshown as the Cowboys’ breakout candidate, or do you foresee another player stepping into that role? In terms of odds, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone like Revel or Barham ends up delivering a more tangible breakout impact this season, given the opportunities that often arise at the linebacker position for young players looking to prove themselves. The choice from ESPN is bold, but the path to a true breakout could be clearer for others who may have fewer question marks surrounding their injury histories.