It’s been a wild ride, but things are starting to clear up at linebacker for the Cowboys.
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Over the years, the Dallas Cowboys have experienced considerable transition at the linebacker position. During the Rolando McClain and Jaylon Smith soap operas and the annual mystery of whether Sean Lee could stay healthy, there has been considerable flux at the position.
Every year, the team tries to piece something together, whether it’s Day 3 draft investments like Anthony Hitchens or Damien Wilson, or low-cost free agent signings like Justin Durant or Anthony Barr. And with the repeated coaching changes over the last five years, you can always bank on some new veteran joining the squad who previously played for a new Cowboys coach.
2020: Joe Thomas – previously played for Mike McCarthy in Green Bay 2021: Keanu Neal – previously played for Dan Quinn in Atlanta 2024: Eric Kendricks – previously played for Mike Zimmer in Minnesota
While it’s been erratic over the last decade, things haven’t slowed down recently. The team had to say goodbye to Lander Vander Esch, who retired after six injury-riddled seasons with the Cowboys. LVE was a first-round pick in 2018 who looked like a star in the league, racking up 140 tackles and two picks his rookie year en route to an All-Pro season.
The Cowboys rolled the dice on a couple of LSU Tiger linebackers who fell in the draft in back-to-back years. Jabril Cox and Damone Clark were thought to be guys with upside who could help, but things haven’t worked out. Cox only logged 46 defensive snaps and lasted two seasons with the team. Clark has been much more serviceable, seeing action in all three of his years in the league. He even started all 17 games in 2023 and led the team with 109 tackles. Clark is in the final year of his rookie deal, but his role on the team continues to fade as he played primarily on special teams last year.
The team tried to get creative with physical safety Markquese Bell and converted him to linebacker in 2023. He played admirably at the position and wasn’t terrible, but he and his LB partner, Clark, didn’t have the skills to make plays consistently, leaving the team with subpar linebacker play.
Clark and Bell were forced to do all the heavy lifting in 2023 because rookie DeMarvion Overshown missed the season after tearing his ACL in a preseason game. Overshown was back last year and looked fantastic until tragedy struck again, this time tearing all the cruciate ligaments (ACL, MCL, and PCL) in his knee late in the season. His 2025 season is up in the air, but word on the street is that he is progressing well, and they are hoping a midseason return is in the cards for their young star linebacker.
The Cowboys are hoping things take a turn for the better because they have done a handful of things to shore up the position. For starters, last year’s third-round pick Marist Liufau had a nice rookie campaign. He played in all 17 games and made nine starts. It was a promising beginning, and fans are optimistic he can make an even stronger impact this season.
Joining Liufau are a couple of new players. The Cowboys signed free agent Jack Sanborn to a one-year deal this offseason. He is the obligatory “played for new coach” pick-up as he played for Matt Eberflus’ Chicago Bears last year. This undrafted free agent has turned into a solid depth piece, playing in every game over the last two seasons, and has 19 starts over his three-year career with the Bears.
The team also made a trade to acquire former first-round pick Kenneth Murray. The veteran linebacker has started at least 14 games in each of the last three seasons. Murray hasn’t lived up to his draft stock, but has shown he can be a viable piece in the linebacker group.
Finally, the Cowboys drafted Florida’s Shemar James on Saturday. On the surface, he’s just another Day 3 flyer the team is taking a chance on, and we should adjust our expectations accordingly. James has great speed and physicality to make plays, but he needs to improve his mental processing before handling any meaningful role on defense. In the meantime, he should make a good special teams player.
And things look even more promising for the future if Overshown can get healthy and stay on the field.
The team has taken measures and drafted a new linebacker in each of the last three drafts. Each time, it’s been someone they’ve loved because in 2023 and 2024, they missed out on taking a running back because the talent of Overshown and Liufau was too good to pass up. Wise move. And they traded up to get their guy James, so we know how the team feels about him.
Combine that with new outside acquisitions to land young linebackers who are 26 (Murray) and 24 (Sanborn) years old, and the Cowboys suddenly have some options. All come with questions, but there should be enough to give one of the league’s best linebacker coaches something to work with. Suddenly, there is reason to be optimistic about this group again.