Greatest dallas cowboys players

Originally drafted as a linebacker, White moved to defensive tackle after his first two seasons and developed into the Hall of Fame player everyone now remembers. Lilly was nearly un-blockable in his 14 seasons as a Cowboy and helped lead them to victory in Super Bowl VI. Smith was consistent, broke a lot of tackles, was deceptively fast, and rarely missed a game.

At the time of his retirement, Staubach was the second highest rated passer of all time with a career quarterback rating of Staubach became known for his sometimes wild playing style and his knack for leading the Cowboys to improbable comeback wins. Statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference. Home NFL. Jason Witten Jason Witten looks to make the grab. Michael Irvin Michael Irvin addressing the media. As there are a number of great teams in Dallas Cowboys history, it is fair to consider which one of them is the best against one another.

Mother Football joined us for a conversation and dissection of eight Dallas Cowboys teams, obviously the five that won the Super Bowl and three others: , , , , , , , and You can watch our conversation below and can see all of the videos that we put out on the Blogging The Boys YouTube channel which you can subscribe to right here.

You can also listen to it on the Blogging The Boys podcast network if you prefer that, we are available on Apple devices here or on Spotify right here. The , , and teams merited discussion because they were great in their own right and obviously disappointing in another , but rest assured that they were not in serious contention for the best Dallas Cowboys team ever.

As is such the true debate came down to the five teams in franchise history that each lifted the Lombardi Trophy. The Cowboys are fortunate that there are so many Super Bowl winners to choose from, but even with this being the case there is still some discussion as to which of them truly stands taller than the rest. Almost any Cowboys team from the s is going to be in the discussion for greatest in franchise history given that time period was a historically great run for the franchise.

Yes, the Cowboys lost Super Bowl V to the Baltimore Colts and managed to persevere enough to get back and win it all the very next year. Dallas became the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl after losing it the year prior, and only two other teams have done this since. The fact that the quarterback position was a flip-flop early on between Roger Staubach and Craig Morton only weakens it compared to the others. Thanks to the Pro Football Hall of Fame finally catching up to the rest of the world in knowing that Drew Pearson is one of the greatest wide receivers ever and Cliff Harris one of the greatest safeties , we are talking about a team that featured five gold jackets with another roaming the sidelines in head coach Tom Landry plus another at defensive coordinator in Ernie Stautner There is no question that they were superior to the other 70s squad that won a title, but what holds them back is that overall they were a much better unit the following season when they lost the Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It is difficult to beat this team if we are being honest, a lesson the entire world literally learned in While the whole world knew that the Cowboys were on the rise in the early 90s, it did all finally crystallize for them in Andrie, a member of the Doomsday Defense and among the toughest to suit up for Dallas, was one of the most intense players of his generation, a big reason why the Cowboys had such a suffocating defense in the late s and early s.

Andrie was named to five straight Pro Bowls, the most ever by a Cowboys defensive end. Nicknamed "The Kitchen" because he was bigger than William "The Refrigerator" Perry , Newton is easily one of most charismatic offensive linemen in the league's history.

But despite the constant smiles and jolly demeanor, he was also one of the absolute best blockers of his era as well. A six-time Pro Bowler, which is tied for the second most in team annals among guards, Newton was one of the anchors on a line that paved the way for Emmitt Smith to not only win four rushing titles, but eventually become the NFL's all-time leading rusher.

One of the three best guards to ever play for the Cowboys, to this day, several teammates say Niland was the Cowboys' best player during the team's dominant playoff run when Dallas outscored its three postseason opponents, , en route to winning Super Bowl VI.

His run blocking was on another level, head coach Tom Landry calling almost every play behind Niland's lead attack. A six-time Pro Bowl selection as well as an All-Pro with a career-best rushing yards and seven scores in , Perkins also ranked among the NFL's top 10 for yards in each of his eight years in the league. He finished strong, too, with back-to-back plus yard seasons in his final two campaigns. Following the season, his ninth year in the league, Smith had made seven consecutive Pro Bowls, the second most among Cowboys offensive linemen and tied for the fourth-longest streak for any player in team history.

He also earned first-team All-Pro nods from the Associated Press in and , as well as second-team honors in and A six-foot-nine-inch former basketball player, Ed "Too Tall" Jones posted more than 1, team-recorded career tackles, batted passes, sacks and a franchise-record 19 fumble recoveries.

He never missed a game over 15 seasons, outside of taking the campaign off to attempt a professional boxing career, of which he was undefeated in six fights before returning to the gridiron. Jones also holds the franchise record for most games played by a defensive player with Since being drafted in , Martin has been nothing less than the most dominant guard in the league, earning Pro Bowl honors in each of his first six seasons and being named first-team All-Pro four times.

In , Martin became just the fifth offensive lineman in league history to earn a Pro Bowl invite in each of his first six campaigns. This historic success all before turning 30 years of age. Before his NFL days are over, Martin could be the most decorated guard to ever play the game. Few cornerbacks have ever possessed the ballhawk abilities of Walls, who led the NFL with seven picks in and nine in He was the first player in history to lead the league in interceptions three times, and to this day, the feat has only been matched by Hall of Famer Ed Reed.

In nine seasons with America's Team, Walls intercepted 44 passes, which ranks second in club record books behind only the 52 of Mel Renfro. A Dallas Cowboy original as much as any person can claim, Meredith was a full-time starter by , and the Cowboys had drafted enough talent around him by the mids and finally took off in , finishing before playing Green Bay in the NFL Championship Game. The signal caller was named the Bert Bell Award winner as Player of the Year that season behind 2, passing yards and 24 touchdown throws, both personal bests.

He also led the NFL in yards per completion for the second straight time at New to the game of football upon being drafted by the Cowboys, Green still managed to make the NFL's All-Rookie team in , and never looked back.

He had the versatility to play both cornerback and safety, shuffling between the two positions throughout his year tenure, which included five Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro selections.

His 34 career interceptions are still tied for fifth in team history as well, and he's the Cowboys' all-time leader in blocked kicks with 10, eight having been blocked field goals. Arguably the greatest cornerback in NFL history, Deion Sanders was signed by the Cowboys in for two main reasons: The team needed a dynamic player on defense to get them back to the Super Bowl, and they wanted to take him away from the San Francisco 49ers, who had dethroned Dallas in and kept the franchise from achieving an elusive championship three-peat.

During his time with Dallas he would earn four trips to the Pro Bowl and three first-team All-Pro nods. Both totals were more than with any other team. In his first three years in the NFL, Romo never took a snap in a regular-season game, but in he was given an opportunity and that's when he became the Cowboys' franchise quarterback for the next decade. Immediately, he created a buzz in Dallas, leading the team to the playoffs in three of his first four years at the helm, including in when Romo guided the Cowboys to their first postseason win in 13 years with a victory over Philadelphia.

Romo's teams never got "over the hump" and to the Super Bowl, but he retired as the Cowboys' all-time leader in touchdown throws with He also ranks first in passing yards 34, , and passer rating A Dallas native, Martin led the Cowboys in sacks seven times over a nine-year span from , highlighted by his otherworldly 23 in just 14 games in That would be an NFL record to this day if sacks were an official statistic then, but that didn't happen until The Cowboys have gone back and compiled them via game film, though, and Martin's sacks still rank second in team history behind only DeMarcus Ware's Haley was only a season removed from first-team All-Pro honors at defensive end and was already a multiple Super Bowl winner with the 49ers when Dallas traded for him in Ultimately, Haley only played in 63 games over five seasons for the Cowboys but his presence and leadership were so instrumental to winning three Super Bowls that Jerry Jones inducted him into the Ring of Honor in The second-fewest games played by a Ring member is Don Meredith with Woodson helped the Cowboys win a Super Bowl ring in each of his first two seasons, and then made five straight Pro Bowls from , staking his claim as one of the best safeties of the decade.

He was also one of the top tacklers, becoming the Cowboys' all-time leader for takedowns during the season, surpassing Lee Roy Jordan 1, tackles and eventually ending his career with 1,, which still ranks first in franchise record books. Howley was named the MVP of Super Bowl V behind two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and he arguably should have been a year later as well when Dallas defeated Miami, , behind his 10 tackles, an interception and another fumble recovery. A six-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time first-team All-Pro, Howley was named to the second-team All-Decade squad for the s, which is all the more impressive considering he started the decade pumping gas in his hometown during the Cowboys' inaugural season.

Tom Landry once called Jordan a "head coach of the defense. Although Jordan wasn't the prototype at linebacker, listed at six feet one inch and a generous pounds, he made up for his lack of size with his instincts and ability to get to the football. And it wasn't just getting there to make the tackle, but oftentimes to force a turnover as well. Jordan's 32 career interceptions are not only the most by a Cowboys linebacker; he's also tied for third in NFL history for picks at the position.

Pearson was a three-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, averaged 16 yards per catch for his year career, and was always the go-to target when the game was on the line, never more so than in the playoffs.

Of course, he also caught the original "Hail Mary" in a divisional playoff game at Minnesota on December 28, Maybe, maybe not, with a little bit of a push off. In all, he played in 21 postseason games for Dallas. For his effort, he was named to the All-Decade Team for the s and eventually became a member of the Cowboys Ring of Honor in Finally, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the centennial class. Ware certainly lived up to the lofty expectations of being the 11th overall round pick in , tying for the team lead in sacks as a rookie with eight, followed by seven consecutive years reigning as the Cowboys' single-season sack leader.

In , he posted the only sack campaign of his career, which is not only a franchise record, but is tied for the 11th-best season by any NFL player. Three years later, Ware racked up He played nine seasons in Dallas, becoming the Cowboys' all-time leader in sacks with while earning seven Pro Bowl invites and four first-team All-Pro nods. Only three players in the year history of the NFL have caught more passes than Witten, who finished the season with 1, receptions for 12, yards and 72 touchdowns.

But unlike some modern-day pass receiving tight ends, the time Pro Bowl selection also blocked, some years among the best in the game. The Hall of Famer Parcells has called him the greatest combination tight end he's ever seen. After missing just one game in his rookie season because of a broken jaw, Witten returned and never missed another game in his entire career, playing in consecutive games, although he did miss the season as a one-year retirement before coming back the next year.

There aren't many players in the years of the National Football League who have been responsible for changing the game. On that super-short list is "Bullet" Bob Hayes, the gold medal Olympic sprinter who forced defensive coordinators to come up with new ways to combat his speed. Hayes was a Pro Bowler in each of his first three seasons and an All-Pro selection in and There were so many long touchdown runs—82 yards, 85 yards, 89 yards, 95 yards—because there was just no one who could catch him from behind.

He also was equally dangerous on punt returns, returning three for scores in two seasons A few years into Wright's career the entire league took notice of his abilities as he made six straight Pro Bowls from , the second most in team history for an offensive tackle, as well as four All-Pro selections in that span.

Wright was also named to the All-Decade Team for the s before eventually retiring in Although the recognition took nearly 25 years, Wright was finally inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor in , becoming the first lineman in franchise history to receive the prestigious honor.

Two years later, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In the playoffs, "Touchdown Tony," then just a rookie, rushed for four scores as the Cowboys steamrolled their way to a second Super Bowl victory. Roger Staubach and Tom Landry said the difference maker from previous teams that came up short was the rookie sensation. Dorsett went on, of course, to become a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection, among just a handful of running backs to achieve that honor.

Dorsett was so much more than just statistics and numbers. He was a game changer and the ultimate gamer, always willing to stay on the field despite the hits and the pain, missing only 10 games in his 11 seasons with the Cowboys.

Irvin's value in the 's was hard to overlook, especially with his ability to rally the Cowboys as their emotional leader. He then capped that run with 1, receiving yards in , which still stands as the Cowboys' single-season record. After Tom Landry moved Renfro to cornerback following six seasons at safety, teams just stopped throwing in his direction altogether.

Over one game stretch, quarterbacks threw just 36 passes his way. On special teams, there was no more dangerous a weapon in the game. As a rookie, he led the NFL in punt returns 32 , punt return yards , kickoff returns 40 and kickoff return yards 1, To this day, not only does he still own the club records for career interceptions 52 and interception return yards , but he is also second in average kickoff return yards When the NFL named its All-Century team, it was an absolute lock that White would be listed among the defensive tackles.

The case can be made that no player in franchise history was more dominant at his position, perhaps the only debate being guard Larry Allen. Usually, if you're the biggest, the toughest, the meanest, and definitely the strongest, you're going to be the best.

No exceptions here as Larry Allen was all of those and then some. In the early s, Allen once bench-pressed over pounds, which only provided the visual proof of his strength, something opposing defensive linemen and linebackers had known for years with the way he had bulldozed them out of his way. The Cowboys needed a savior.

They needed someone who could carry the team on his shoulders and wasn't afraid to lead them back to the promised land. That's what the Cowboys were hoping for when they selected Troy Aikman with the No. They got exactly that, and so much more. Aikman was every bit the franchise player the Cowboys and their fans hoped he would be, becoming one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history and one of the best players to ever wear the Star.

On the day he was drafted by the Cowboys in , Emmitt Smith made a bold prediction, stating that not only would he eventually be in the Ring of Honor, but that he would surpass Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Most people brushed it off, assuming that anyone bold enough to wear black and yellow polka-dotted overalls on his first day at the job would also make a few outlandish statements.

Only it wasn't so bold after all. Smith backed up his claims, proving to be one of the league's greatest running backs.