Turns out Deuce Vaughn wasn’t the only Cowboys pick of the weekend who had a family connection in the Dallas draft room pulling for him.
Third-round selection DeMarvion Overshown was taken with the 90th overall selection on Friday night. Drafting the Texas linebacker addressed a position that many believed the Cowboys would focus on at some point over their scheduled seven picks, although as the third round progressed, the team had not filled perceived holes at guard, running back, or cornerback.
When it came time to make a decision on the Longhorns linebacker who was up for consideration, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones relied on some intel he had gotten from an unlikely source:
His grandson.
Paxton Anderson, whose mother is Cowboys chief brand officer Charlotte Jones, is a fourth-year wide receiver at Texas and was a teammate of Overshown.
“Paxton is a good person,” Overshown told reporters during his introductory conference call Friday night. “I don’t know what exactly he said to his grandpa about me, but a couple of times Mr. Jones said it was an A+ from what he got from Paxton. So whatever he said, it was good, I love him for it, and I’m very appreciative.”
Jones confirmed in the team’s Day 2 press conference that Overshown and Anderson had even been lockermates in Austin. He added that his grandson had talked up the big linebacker very early in the pre-draft process.
“He had mentioned it from time to time in the past,” Jones explained. “The way he said it was: whether he’s practicing or playing, he’s just all over the place. He’s everywhere.”
The 22-year-old Overshown grew up in a tiny town outside Tyler in northeast Texas, where he grew up surrounded by the lore of the Cowboys. That made his welcome-to-the-league call that much more special.
“It means the world, growing up around nothing but Cowboys fans, as basically they were my hometown team,” Overshown explained. “Getting that call where it says ‘The Star,’ and then hearing Jerry Jones’s voice, that meant the world to me, and it’s a feeling that I’ll never forget and I’ll cherish forever. The tears actually came down my face once I saw that number. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. I’m blessed, and I’m ready to get to work.”
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Overshown got a small taste of what it would feel like to be a Cowboy during his official 30 visit.
“It went so smooth,” the 6-foot-2-inch 229-pounder recalled. “It was family. It felt like family. I actually called Paxton right after, or saw him right after, and I told him, ‘Dallas felt like family. It felt like home. I didn’t feel like a stranger there.'”
Overshown met with linebackers coach Scott McCurley during that visit, then with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. But the young man says their conversations were as much about family and life as they were about Xs and Os.
“It was just a welcoming home feeling,” he continued. “That’s exactly what I got there. When I first got there- from the dinner all the way to the lunch before I left to go somewhere else- it felt like a family vacation. It didn’t feel like a business trip. We watched a little film, but after that, it was more me talking about my background, talking about the family, talking about what to expect my rookie season.”
To that end, Overshown knows he can expect to put in some work on special teams as a way to get acclimated and then progress toward playing regular defense. His skills will present Quinn with some interesting options; he played safety in college, and while he believes he can move back into a hybrid role like Jayron Kearse or Donovan Wilson, he also has the pass-rush ability to move up onto the line and moonlight in a Micah Parsons-type role.
“I know Coach Quinn has a plan for me,” he offered.
A plan that may have been helped by the owner’s grandson putting in a good word for him.
Overshown says Anderson was among the first to text him after his pick was announced.
“He said, ‘Congratulations, bro,” Overshown laughed, “‘ I told you.'”
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