2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Texas football LB DeMarvion Overshown

The first scouting report in our series for the Texas football program for the 2023 NFL Draft will be senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. With the start of the 2023 NFL Draft Combine upon us, we are looking at what one of the most physically-gifted linebackers in this class brings to the table.

Overshown was a four-year starter at Texas that received nearly 2,200 defensive snaps in his career. The 6-foot-4 and 225-pound linebacker was originally recruited as a four-star safety out of Arp High School in Texas in the 2018 class. Overshown was so highly touted as a recruit out of high school that some of the major recruiting services even pegged him as a five-star prospect (i.e. 247Sports).

Texas football LB DeMarvion Overshown’s career as a Longhorn

Upon his arrival on campus, Overshown definitely looked the part of a next-level talent in terms of his physical gifts and ranginess in the defensive backfield. But Overshown was a better fit given his insane physical tools and chase-down speed and the linebacker position.

Overshown was converted from safety to linebacker in 2019, where he showed some flashes of being a real playmaker at the position. Despite only getting double-digit defensive snaps in five games during the 2019 season, he registered seven tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, three pass breakups, a dozen stops, and one forced fumble.

He made plays in multiple ways on defense as a redshirt freshman.

Heading into the 2020 season, Overshown’s role in the Texas defense grew considerably. He was a regular starter at weakside linebacker alongside middle linebacker Juwan Mitchell and jack edge rusher Joseph Ossai.

And despite playing for his second defensive coordinator in as many years as a contributor/starter on Texas’ defense, Overshown still put together his most consistent and productive campaign to date in 2020. He registered 60 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, 29 stops, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

Overshown did take a bit of a step back as a pass rusher in 2020, but he was more consistent and graded out higher in most other areas of his defensive game year-over-year in his inaugural campaign as a full-time starter at linebacker.

The 2021 season did see Overshown take a bit of a step back in all areas of his defensive game, though. Overshown wasn’t able to participate in much of the 2021 offseason workout program as he was recovering from shoulder surgery at the time.

Missing the entirety of spring ball as well as a good portion of the offseason strength and conditioning program with the rest of the team hurt Overshown as he tried to adapt to the new scheme under DC Pete Kwiatkowski.

It’s worth noting that PK was Overshown’s third defensive coordinator in as many years entering the 2021 campaign.

Overshown saw most of his per-game defensive box score stats dip year-over-year in 2021. And he posted the worst defensive grade of his career, at a measly 44.3.

The year-over-year regression that Overshown saw in 2021 was likely one of the driving factors as to why he returned to Texas for a fifth year in 2022. He needed to put some of the doubts about his game from NFL scouts to bed with a solid bounce-back campaign as a fifth-year senior last season.

And that’s exactly what Overshown was able to do as an All-Big 12 linebacker on a vastly improved Texas defensive front last fall. Overshown had the best and most complete season of his collegiate career to date during the 2022 campaign.

Overshown and fellow All-Big 12 linebacker Jaylan Ford formed possibly the best duo at the position in the conference in 2022.

Ford and Overshown were the only Big 12 players in the last two seasons that registered at least 150 combined tackles and 15 tackles for loss. The duo also ranked one and two among the top linebackers in the Big 12 in terms of points saved in pass coverage last season.

Overshown, in particular, was insanely-productive as a pass rusher and a run stopper from the will linebacker position last year. He ranked in the top five in the Big 12 last season in terms of his run defense grade and in run stop percentage among linebackers. Overshown also led the Big 12 in positive play percentage in run defense among linebackers.

In pass coverage, Overshown did look like his old self during the 2022 campaign. Overshown graded out in the top half among Big 12 linebackers in pass coverage last season. He also showed tremendous strides in terms of his ability to keep the play in front of him in pass coverage year-over-year in 2022.

Overshown ranked second in the Big 12 in pass play stops. And he allowed fewer yards after the catch per reception year-over-year.

Last but not least, Overshown was a really productive pass rusher for the Longhorns last season. He registered the best pass rush grade of his career at Texas in 2022 and posted a career-best 23 quarterback pressures. Overshown was utilized by PK and the Longhorns more often as a hybrid edge rusher to drum up more pressure on opposing quarterbacks last season.

All in all, Overshown capped his career at Texas as one of the most productive and physically-imposing linebackers in the program in the last decade. According to Sports Reference, Overshown ranks fourth in combined tackles (249) and ninth in tackles for loss (30.5) among Texas defenders since 2000.

Overshown’s strengths

• Incredible upside
• Sideline-to-sideline speed
• Defensive “chess piece” that is a constantly improving pass rusher
• Instincts and range to drop back into pass coverage
• Quick burst that allows him to explode off the line of scrimmage
• Great length and fluidity
• Expanding array of pass rush moves

Overshown’s physical tools, ranginess, and explosiveness are his biggest overall strengths. And that trio of strengths does a good job of explaining the foundation behind some of the finer points in his game that make Overshown stand out among the linebackers in this draft class.

You won’t find many linebackers that have the type of speed, agility, and insane power that Overshown plays with as a pass rusher and a run defense. His ability to shoot like a cannon through gaps to both generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks and to blow up plays in run defense in the backfield consistently stands out on film.

Overshown also has a lengthy wingspan that allows him to be enough more physically imposing. His length and fluidity mean that he can chase down just about any running back, quarterback, tight end, or boundary receiver sideline-to-sideline.

And one of the nicer surprises that emerged in Senior Bowl practice for Overshown was his insane first step and some newly-polished moves as a pass rusher. If Overshown continues to display that ability to win battles as a pass rusher in the trenches or coming from the edge, he’ll be viewed as one of the most proficient pass rushers at linebacker in this draft class.

There is also a ton of versatility that Overshown brings to the table. He proved last season that he can handle multiple responsibilities on the defensive side of the ball effectively. He’s got the range and instincts to handle most pass coverage assignments in the flats all the way up to the intermediate part of the field.

Overshown also showed a lot of improvement in terms of his ability to lead the charge and get hats to the football to gather run stops. The same could be said for his ability to use his speed and ranginess to stick with opposing skill players in pass coverage.

Overshown’s areas of improvement

• Size/weight. Can get pushed around if he doesn’t add more muscle mass
• Still improving play diagnosis in run defense
• Needs to use his length better to shed blocks

One of the common misconceptions in Overshown’s game is that he is a poor read-and-react linebacker in run defense. As I mentioned in my scouting report video breakdown of Overshown’s game ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, I don’t know if it’s old data/evaluations or just inconclusive film, but there is ample evidence out there that he was one of the more proficient run defenders in the Big 12 at linebacker in 2022.

We already noted the fact that Overshown led all Big 12 linebackers in positive play percentage in run defense last season. And he was one of the most consistent run-stuffers from the linebacker position in the Big 12 in 2022.

There was a point in time when Overshown was questionable in run defense, but that mostly had to do with the late adjustment he had to make in 2021 to PK’s defensive scheme. And I would chalk that issue up to poor adjustments and play across the board on Texas’ defense than any blame I would place on Overshown individually.

Although, there are still some strides that Overshown can make in run defense. While he did make a lot of strides in his ability to find the football and blow up plays in the opposing team’s backfield last year, a linebacker that has the type of physical tools Overshown brings to the table has the potential to force more negative plays (even at the NFL level) than he did in 2022 at Texas.

The two other questions regarding Overshown’s game mentioned here are namely due to him needing to add some muscle mass to his frame and then utilizing his length to his advantage. Overshown is still progressing as a pass-rusher, thus I think it will still take a little bit of time for him to best figure out how to use his insane length to win battles as a pass-rusher.

Projection

Overshown had a strong showing at the Senior Bowl and in practice in the week leading up to the game a few weeks ago. If he shows out again at Texas’ Pro Day and the NFL Combine this week, Overshown could see his stock rise from a potential middle-round pick-up to a solidified Day 2 prospect.

Verdict: Late third round