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Justin Carter ranks the 10 best players to ever play for the Dallas Cowboys. Where do some of the top legends like Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman land?
Whether you believe that the Dallas Cowboys are America's Team or not is fine to debate, but what can't be debated is the huge influence that the franchise has had over the course of its existence. The Cowboys have a huge fan base and a lot of history.
They've also had a lot of really, really good players come through Dallas, Irving, and now Arlington, players who have shaped the course of NFL history in various ways.
Below are the top-10 Dallas Cowboys players of all time.
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10. Mel Renfro - Defensive Back
As will often be a trend in this article, Mel Renfro spent his entire NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys. The cornerback never made a first-team All-Pro team, but he made four appearances on the second team and won a pair of Super Bowls with Dallas. Renfro was a 10-time Pro Bowl selection and led the NFL in interceptions in 1969. Overall, he picked off 52 passes in his 174 career games.
9. Jason Witten - Tight End
One of the best tight ends of his era, Jason Witten played all but one season with the Cowboys. He was a two-time first-team All-Pro and an 11-time Pro Bowl pick. Witten is the all-time Cowboys leader in receiving yards with 12,977 and sits just one touchdown behind Dez Bryant in the race for most touchdowns in franchise history.
Happy birthday, Jason Witten!
His career stats…
• 271 games
• 1,228 catches
• 13,046 receiving yards
• 48.1 YPG, 10.6 YPR
• 74 TDs
• 11x pro bowler, 4x all-pro
• Most career games played by a TE (271)
• Most consecutive games played by a TE (243)
• Most receptions by… pic.twitter.com/a81ahaQRtk— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) May 6, 2023
Witten often went under the radar at a time when there were flashier tight ends, but he truly is one of the best ever to play the position.
8. Tony Dorsett - Running Back
The Cowboys drafted Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett with the No. 2 pick in the 1977 NFL Draft. He made an instant impact, winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in that first season. Injuries limited Dorsett's career at the end, but he sits second behind Emmitt Smith on the team's list of career rushing yards and is also second to Smith in touchdowns, scoring 72 on the ground with Dallas. He added five more in his final season with the Broncos.
7. Michael Irvin - Wide Receiver
The Cowboys have had a ton of great wide receivers, but Michael Irvin stands above them all. He spent 12 seasons with the Cowboys and likely would have hung on longer if it wasn't for a spine injury in 1999. Irvin won three Super Bowls with the team and led the NFL in receiving yards once. He's second to Witten on the franchise leaderboard in receptions and receiving yards, catching 750 passes for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns during his time with the 'Boys.
6. Larry Allen - Offensive Lineman
The Cowboys won three Super Bowls in the 1990s and while the Triplets get much of the attention for that, Larry Allen's skill and size on the offensive line was also a huge part of that success. Allen was a seven-time first-team All-Pro, making that list every season from 1995 to 2001. No Cowboys offensive player has made more Pro Bowls than Allen's 10. He truly is one of the best offensive linemen of all time.
5. Troy Aikman - Quarterback
Troy Aikman might have been No. 1 on this list if his career hadn't been limited near the end by injury. Even with that, he lands at No. 5 after leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories and winning MVP in Super Bowl XXVII. Aikman is behind only Tony Romo on the team's career passing yardage list, though Dak Prescott has a shot to pass him in 2024. Still, Aikman is above Romo and Prescott when it comes to ranking Dallas quarterbacks because he did something they couldn't -- or haven't yet, in Prescott's case -- do, which is deliver championships to the fans in the DFW Metroplex.
4. Randy White - Defensive Tackle
Randy White played with the Cowboys from 1975 to 1988, winning one Super Bowl with the team. In that Super Bowl XII victory, White was named co-MVP along with teammate Harvey Martin in a game that saw the Cowboys limit the Broncos to just 10 points.
Who’s your favorite Dallas Cowboys Player of All time??? Mine
Randy White pic.twitter.com/GS2Jgu5Y9Q— JASON (@JkTex50) January 14, 2024
White was a seven-time first-team All-Pro selection and a nine-time Pro Bowler. He was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team and finished his career with 52 sacks.
3. Bob Lilly - Defensive Tackle
There's not a better defender in Cowboys history than Bob Lilly, who played 14 seasons with the team and earned the nickname "Mr. Cowboy" for his contributions to the franchise.
Lilly was a seven-time first-team All-Pro selection with Dallas, including every season from 1964 to 1969. He added two more second-team All-Pros to his name as well and was selected for 11 Pro Bowls. Lilly was so good that he made the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team AND the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team. He recovered 18 fumbles over the course of his Cowboys career.
2. Emmitt Smith - Running Back
There's never going to be another Smith. NFL teams simply don't run the ball enough, and NFL running backs simply don't have the durability for anyone to surpass what Smith did. His 18,355 rushing yards are the most in NFL history and his 164 rushing touchdowns are the most as well. Some of that was because he also set a record for another thing: most career rushing attempts.
Most career rushing TDs:
Emmitt Smith - 164
LaDainian Tomlinson - 145
Marcus Allen - 123
Adrian Peterson - 120
Walter Payton - 110
Jim Brown - 106
John Riggins - 104
Shaun Alexander - 100
Marshall Faulk - 100
Barry Sanders - 99 pic.twitter.com/9eWO1Z7Gtw— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) March 26, 2024
Smith won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys, winning MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII. He was also the NFL MVP in 1993 and an eight-time Pro Bowl selection. Dallas is a franchise that's always had exceptional running back play, but Smith is the best of the best, and it's tough to imagine that ever changing.
1. Roger Staubach - Quarterback
Roger Staubach spent his entire NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys. Originally drafted in 1964, Staubach didn't debut in the NFL until 1969 because he had to fulfill his Naval commitment. Despite starting his pro career at age 27, Staubach found massive success in Dallas, where he established himself as the greatest Dallas Cowboys player of all time.
"Captain Comeback" led the Cowboys to a pair of Super Bowl victories and was named MVP of Super Bowl VI. While he never won the NFL MVP, Staubach led the league in passer rating four times and made six Pro Bowl appearances. His legacy continues to loom large for America's Team.
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