OXNARD, Calif. — Let’s talk about former Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee, because if Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus could right now, he would.
“I love talking about Sean,” said Eberflus, who coached Lee with the Cowboys from 2011-17. “And I will talk about Sean every chance I get.”
It’s high praise: being the subject a linebacker whisperer wants to talk about often. In the mind of Eberflus, it’s earned, too. Lee had limits, highlighted by a 4.8 40-yard dash he ran at the combine, but the two-time Pro Bowler pursued the extent of them through his decade in the NFL.
“We try to maximize the guys … and you talk about a guy that maximized his potential and maximized his body,” Eberflus said, “that’s a guy that you look at.”
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His current linebackers look at that example, too. One, in particular, is intriguing.
DeMarvion Overshown’s time actually on the field has been brief to start his NFL career. He flashed potential in the preseason of his rookie year before he tore his ACL. He showcased his talent last season over the course of 13 games before he once again suffered an ACL tear.
Overshown hopes to be ready to go for the Thanksgiving game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Until then, he’s doing everything he can to maximize his potential — just as Lee did.
“We talk about Sean Lee a lot,” Overshown said. “Just how he was able to diagnose plays before they were even run.”
It was a superpower for Lee. He would study an upcoming opponent from early in the week all the way up until the night before the game. Teammates told The Dallas Morning News back in 2016 that he would call out formations before they even happened. He would even go over tells that individual opponents showed with his teammates, so they could be prepared too.
“I think that preparation allows him to even make more plays than he typically would make just because he sees things as they’re happening,” former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said about Lee.
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In his early and brief NFL career, Overshown hasn’t required that type of head start. His speed has been his best asset. At times, it was his vulnerability, too. Overshown mentioned last season that missed tackles were something he wanted to fix. He had 19 of them in 13 games.
There’s a positive way to look at those mistakes. There’s room for improvement with a little work, and a little conversation. Overshown said he, Eberflus and linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi go over last season often.
“It’s just the small things you don’t see as much,” Overshown said, “that can get me that much closer to making a play.”
In other words: it can slow the game down for the speedy Overshown. And the good news for him: he doesn’t need to be on the field to fix those things.
Lee didn’t. Currently, Overshown can’t be on the filed, so he’s doing everything he can off of it. The most noticeable thing during training camp has come during team drills. Overshown will stand right next to Eberflus. When Eberflus calls a play, Overshown will look down at his play sheet and call it, too. Before and after each play they’re talking about what each other saw.
“That’s a guy that gets it,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said of Overshown. “That’s a guy that understands, ‘OK, I can’t be out there running around right now, but I can still be getting a PHD in Matt Eberflus: not just in his defense, but what he’s thinking. Because it’s all anticipation.”
It’s what allowed Lee to maximize his potential. It enabled him to be one step ahead, as his 11 combined interceptions in his first four seasons would indicate.
It’s a place that Overshown hopes he can get to under the tutelage of Eberflus.
“This guy has coached some of the best of the best,” Overshown said. “So when he comes to me and says you’ve got what it takes to be just like one of those guys, I don’t take that lightly. I want him to push me every day so I can reach that full potential. He knows that I’m going all out for this rehab and that he’s not going to have to hold off on me when I get point.
“I’m locked in, and when I can run around again, they’re going to be ready.”
That potential, if maximized, is worth talking about.
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