FRISCO, Texas — DeMarvion Overshown and Jaishawn Barham did not know each other before this year. The Dallas Cowboys linebackers have been building toward playing next to each other since OTAs, Overshown said Tuesday at The Star.
Overshown said the chemistry comes down to trust, that he knows Barham has his best interest and that Barham knows Overshown has his back.
“It’s been great. We help each other out a lot, able to feed off each other energy. So that’s another thing. We’re not just friends on the field. We’re friends off the field,” Overshown said. “So we’re able to talk to each other, make sure we both clear on what we’re doing. So we’re able to play fast. And that’s what’s going to make us so dangerous, between me, him, everybody else in the linebacker room, how connected we are. So we can play off each other, know where we gonna be at, and it’ll allow us to play fast.”
Jaishawn Barham’s First NFL Start
Barham started next to Overshown in the preseason win at Arizona on Saturday and finished with 5 tackles, including 1 for a loss. He wore the green dot and took the coach-to-player communication. Barham said Tuesday that handling the calls feels normal because he did it in college.
Dallas drafted Barham in the third round, No. 92 overall, in April. He spent two seasons at Maryland, was a Freshman All-American there in 2022, then transferred to Michigan and played both off the ball and on the ball. A groin injury sustained in Oxnard cost him the preseason opener at Seattle.
The Dallas Cowboys Linebacker Room
Overshown was a third-round pick out of Texas in 2023. He played 6 games last season with 5 starts and recorded 28 tackles.
Shemar James started alongside Barham at Arizona. James played 14 games with 6 starts as a rookie last season and recorded 91 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Dallas traded for Dee Winters this offseason. Marist Liufau was left off Calvin Watkins’ fourth 53-man roster projection for The Dallas Morning News.
Christian Parker took over the defense in January and runs a 3-4 front. The Cowboys allowed 511 points last season, 30.1 per game, which ranked last in the NFL.
What Is Left Before Dallas Cowboys Cuts
Dallas practices in front of fans at The Star again Wednesday. The preseason closes Friday against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m. CT on CBS.
Rosters must be at 53 players by 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 30. Waiver claims are due at noon CT the next day.
