The Dallas Cowboys are considered a punching bag in today’s NFL. Between owner Jerry Jones’s constant quotes, unlimited headlines, and, most importantly, a lack of success, the Cowboys are mostly fodder for debate shows rather than true Super Bowl contenders.
There’s a reason we focus on the Dallas Cowboys. It’s not because they are in the biggest city, like the New York Yankees, or because they control the narrative, like Manchester United. The Cowboys live in the minds of so many, whether as out-of-market fans or haters, because of their success.
The Cowboys have five Super Bowl titles, tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the third most all-time. They’ve had some amazing coaches and team builders in their time, but this team is all about the players. And just like their helmet, the focus is on the star(s).
The Cowboys have 20 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They often have some of the highest-selling jerseys in the league, and the brand is as valuable as any in sports. But this is more than value. Who were the best at each position?
Quarterback
Roger Staubach
1969-1979
There have been a ton of interesting quarterback runs in Big D. Tony Romo had a few moments, although none were in the playoffs. Don Meridith brought the Cowboys into the Super Bowl era and began their tradition of winning. Dak Prescott brought the team back from the doldrums today (although still no Super Bowl). However, this comes down to two people: Troy Aikman or Roger Staubach.
We went with Staubach by a hair. He was truly one of the best signal callers of his era. He was a six-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl MVP. Staubach led the league in passer rating four times and was essentially as statistically great in comparison as the top players of today.
Staubach was drafted in 1964, but he wouldn’t join the Cowboys until 1969 due to his military commitments. He would sit on the sidelines, including for Super Bowl V, until 1971. After finally taking over starting reps, he won 10 games in a row, including Super Bowl VI.
He would play in four Super Bowls total, going 2-2 (including two losses to the Steelers by four points each). After a bout with concussions, he retired despite the Cowboys offering a new contract. He finished his career with the highest all-time passer rating (but has since been passed, obviously). Staubach was as clutch as they come, playing with ice water in his veins, but his career wasn’t as long as we realize. He was here, dominated, then left at the peak of his powers.
Running Back
Emmitt Smith
1990-2002
While there was much debate at the quarterback position (and pretty much every other position on this list), there is no debate for the running back choice. Emmitt Smith is one of the best players to ever play. He is still the all-time leader in rushing yards, thanks in large part to being on the dominant 1990s Dallas Cowboys.
There’s much debate about where Smith ranks among the all-time running backs, with analysts bringing up Barry Sanders, Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Eric Dickerson, but Smith holds the career record with 18,355 yards. In his first six seasons, Smith made six Pro Bowls, won the Offensive Rookie of the Year, won the 1993 MVP, and was a four-time All-Pro.
Smith was the league leader in rushing four times over that span, and he also led in touchdowns three times. He had more than 20 touchdowns in a season twice, and he had more than 1,000 yards in a season 11 years in a row.
What we don’t talk about as much as his all-time regular-season rushing record is Smith’s all-time playoff rushing record. He has 1,586 yards and 19 touchdowns in 17 playoff games. This is essentially a 2025 regular season against the best of the best every week, including three Super Bowls, and he would be the best in the league there, as well.
Wide Receiver
Michael Irvin
1988-1999
The receiver on that superstar 1990s Cowboys dynasty was Michael Irvin. He’s somewhat lost in the laurels of the “all-time” great receivers, but he was one of the best of the era. Irvin was on the All-Decade Team after making five Pro Bowls and being named the 1991 All-Pro wide receiver.
Irvin came into the league with a ton of hype. It had been decades since a rookie receiver started for the Cowboys, but Irvin was lined up for the start of the 1988 season. He averaged 20.4 yards per catch in his rookie year, leading the league. Then, the Cowboys made wholesale changes, letting Tom Landry go and setting the foundation for their next dynasty. Irvin was a huge part of that building.
Jimmie Johnson, Irvin’s head coach at the University of Miami, became the head coach in Dallas. Ironically, during the building period, the Cowboys almost tried to sell Irvin high to the Raiders, but they made the famous Hershel Walker trade instead. Irvin was then pivotal in making the Cowboys the best team in football.
His Super Bowl heroics are well-told. In Super Bowl XXVII, Irvin scored two touchdowns in 18 seconds of game time. He had a huge game in the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers ahead of Super Bowl XXX, securing the Cowboys’ place as an NFL dynasty. He was forced to retire after the 1999 season when he suffered a spine injury against the Eagles.
Wide Receiver
Drew Pearson
1973-1983
Drew Pearson does not have the statistics that some of the superstar receivers have had, but there’s a reason he’s the original “88” in Cowboys history. The best of the best wear the number that started with Pearson dominating the league in his own way. He was as clutch as any receiver in the league in the 1970s, and that helped him make the All-Decade Team.
Pearson sits fourth in Cowboys history in both catches (489) and receiving yards (7,822). He finished his career with three first-team All-Pro appearances, showing that he was actually considered at the top of the league more often than Michael Irvin.
What he’s best known for is his connection with Roger Staubach during his career. No moment was clearer than the famous “Hail Mary.” The Cowboys were trying to take out the Purple People Eaters Minnesota Vikings team, and with no time left, Staubach threw a pass 45 yards in the air. Pearson caught the ball around the five-yard line and waltzed into the end zone to win the game.
Pearson won just one Super Bowl with the Cowboys, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. He played in the Super Bowl three times and the NFC Championship Game seven times. He lifted the Cowboys up to contention throughout the decade, and Staubach might not get the Cowboys to the heights they got to without Pearson.
Wide Receiver
CeeDee Lamb
2020-2025
This might seem too early and like we're jumping the gun, but CeeDee Lamb is too good not to be on this list. We've seen enough of him to say he would beat out some of the other Cowboys greats, like Terrell Owens, Dez Bryant, and Tony Hill, for the final spot on this all-time roster.
At the time of this writing, Lamb has more than 1,000 yards in every year of his career except his rookie season, when he had 935 yards. He made the Pro Bowl four consecutive years, and he’s on pace to get there again in 2025. He led the league with 135 receptions in 2023, making his first All-Pro team.
This era of Cowboys football isn’t synonymous with success, but Lamb is the reason they are seeing any level of adulation. In their last playoff game, Lamb was targeted an insane 17 times, catching nine passes for 110 yards.
Right now, he is ranked seventh all-time in receiver yards in Cowboys history, and we expect him to get into the top five before the end of this season. His 1,749 yards in 2023 is the most all-time in Cowboys history. He brings so much talent to a team that’s seen it in spades.
Tight End
Jason Witten
2003-2019
This is another obvious choice. Jason Witten was the poster boy for the Cowboys' offense in the 2000s. While they had other great talents, Witten was the one who was always there and always clutch. He was an 11-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro.
It might surprise even some Cowboys fans, but Witten is the all-time leading receiver in Cowboys history. He finished his Cowboys career with 12,977 yards and 72 touchdowns. He has 1,215 catches in his career, 465 more than Irvin, who is second on the all-time list. Witten is head and shoulders above the rest of the Cowboys in terms of career production.
Honestly, Witten should be discussed more in the all-time tight end debate. Only Tony Gonzalez has more receptions and yards in their career. Witten finished ahead of Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates, Shannon Sharpe, and if Travis Kelce retires to go marry Taylor Swift after this season, he likely stays ahead of him, too.
Witten was also a team captain for the Cowboys, leading them on the field and off the field. He was the Walter Payton Man of the Year, and he was always in the community representing the Cowboys in a positive light. His worst transgression was retiring in 2018 to become an ESPN color analyst, but he fixed his mistake by returning to the Cowboys in 2019.
Offensive Line
Tyron Smith
2011-2023
There are more great offensive linemen in Cowboys history than any other position, with many of their Super Bowl appearances and wins coming thanks to the work of the big guys up front, but the best Cowboys lineman at the most important position (left tackle) was a recent addition. Tyron Smith was incredible in Dallas, and his loss is still felt today.
Smith was the first lineman the Cowboys took in the top-10 of the NFL Draft in the Jerry Jones era. He made the NFL’s All-Rookie team in his first year, playing well as a right tackle while he learned the NFL game. His breakout began in 2014, when he committed just one holding penalty and allowed one sack while playing left tackle.
Smith did so much with the Cowboys, including being named “Offensive Player of the Week” in 2014, something that hadn’t happened in more than a decade. He finished his career with two first-team All-Pro selections and three second-team selections. He had some injury issues later in his career, and he eventually signed with the Jets in 2024, but Smith was as dominant as they come in this era.
Offensive Line
Zack Martin
2014-2024
Speaking of dominant, there was nobody as dominant as a guard as Zack Martin. The Cowboys guard was incredible every single year he played. He was a seven-time first-team All-Pro at guard. Only 13 players in the history of the league have had more selections at any position, and only Aaron Donald is from this era. Martin was considered the best player on the Cowboys for most of his career.
It’s interesting to see how it all started. Martin was selected with the 16th pick in the draft. Superstar quarterback Johnny Manziel was on the board, but Jerry Jones decided to take the big guy, and it couldn’t have worked out better for him.
Martin was dominant in a way that felt impossible. Players could not get past him, and he almost never committed penalties. In 10 years on the field, he had a total of seven holding penalties. He finished with eight false starts. In his last five years on the field, he had one holding penalty. This guy is going to easily walk into the Pro Football Hall of Fame the second he becomes eligible.
Offensive Line
John Niland
1966-1974
John Niland came into the league with high hopes. The Cowboys took him out of the University of Iowa with the fifth-overall pick in the 1966 NFL Draft. He moved around the line, but his most prominent position was left guard. He was the best pulling guard of the era, and he might still hold the title as the best of all time.
Niland helped the Cowboys drive the rushing game forward. His speed got to where the holes needed to, allowing the offense to find the soft spots in the defense. His presence was imperative for the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl win. In Super Bowl VI, the running game had 252 yards on the ground, led by Dwayne Thomas. They had much more success running to Niland’s side.
He was selected to six consecutive Pro Bowls from 1968 to 1973 and was a three-time All-Pro selection. He also played almost every game for the Cowboys, rarely missing time with injury. He was only there for that first Super Bowl run, but he set the tenor for what a Cowboys offensive lineman must look like moving forward.
Offensive Line
Larry Allen
1994-2005
There are levels to this ranking, and Larry Allen is in another class. Even considering the other Hall of Famers for the Dallas Cowboys, Allen stands above them all. He’s the best player in the history of the Cowboys franchise. He might be the best offensive lineman ever. It all sounds crazy, but Allen was that good when he played.
Allen was drafted out of Sonoma State University, a college that eliminated its athletic department in 2025. It was a surprise he was even able to get to the second round, but his talent was too clear off the jump. His strength was what set him apart from the rest of the league. He could easily bench press any of his offensive line teammates. Heck, he might be able to get two of them up. That strength allowed him to easily push these large defensive tackles around.
Allen was a six-time All-Pro and a Super Bowl champion. In his Cowboys career, he missed out on the Pro Bowl just twice. He’s one of the only players to be on two NFL All-Decade teams. He’s an easy Hall of Famer who could dominate the line in any era. This was such a great player who the Cowboys miss terribly.
Offensive Line
Rayfield Wright
1967-1979
Rayfield Wright played right tackle for 14 seasons in Dallas, helping the Cowboys win their first two Super Bowl championships. Drafted as a tight end, Wright was clearly better as a blocker, and the move to the offensive line in his third season led to a Hall of Fame career.
Wright got the confidence of the Cowboys to become their long-term tackle in his first start. The Cowboys were taking on the Los Angeles Rams, who had all-time great Deacon Jones on the defensive line. How Wright performed secured him a job he wouldn’t lose for more than a decade.
The Cowboys went to five Super Bowls with Wright as their starter, and this is when the Cowboys became “America’s Team.” Who knows what the future would be if Big Cat were dedicated to being a tight end? The Cowboys were a top-10 offense pretty much the entire time Wright was there.
There’s not much the Cowboys could have asked for from their offensive line. Their all-time line might be better than any all-time position group anywhere in the league. Is there a better set of wide receivers than the Cowboys' offensive line? Maybe San Fran, but that unit is pretty much lifted by the greatness of Jerry Rice. Here, there are five incredible current and future Hall of Famers who would dominate lines in every decade in league history.