Top 10 Dallas Cowboys of all time

David Steele

Top 10 Dallas Cowboys of all time image

They are the best among the very best, players with legacies, statistics and many with Hall of Fame busts. Over the next several weeks, Sporting News will present our list of the top 10 players of all-time from the most storied NFL franchises. Today we begin with America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys.

Roger Staubach

Still the face and embodiment of the Cowboys 35 years after his last snap, Staubach doubles as the smartest draft pick in franchise history (10th round, 1964). Staubach led the Cowboys to four Super Bowls, winning two, and was the ultimate leader on what became known as “America’s Team.”

Emmitt Smith

The anchor of the Triplets that led the Cowboys to three Super Bowls wins in four years in the 1990s. Just big enough, fast enough, strong enough and tough enough to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, win a regular-season and Super Bowl MVP and to endure pain and injury in unforgettable and legendary fashion.

Bob Lilly

The first player ever drafted by the franchise, in 1961 (they didn’t participate in the draft in their expansion season of ’60), Lilly was the foundation of Tom Landry’s Doomsday Defense, locking down at defensive tackle for 14 years. “Mr. Cowboy” rode out the tough early years and the can’t-win-the-big-one stretch of the ‘60s before getting to two Super Bowls and winning one.

Tony Dorsett

The Heisman Trophy winner was the reward for the Cowboys’ smartest draft trade ever; they moved up to No. 2 overall to get him in 1977. They immediately won the Super Bowl with him, and Dorsett became one of the greatest combinations of speed and vision in NFL history (exemplified by his 99-yard touchdown run in 1982).

Michael Irvin

Not the first great Dallas receiver to wear No. 88 (Drew Pearson originated it), but Irvin made the number iconic. If Smith was the steak on the ‘90s Cowboys, the flashy Irvin was the sizzle, talking as good a game as he played. Troy Aikman’s favorite target, and a threat anywhere on the field, Irvin made every other Cowboys’ skill player more dangerous by his presence.

Troy Aikman

The first brick in the foundation of the Jimmy Johnson-Jerry Jones renaissance as the first pick in the 1989 draft. Only Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw have won more Super Bowls as starting quarterback than Aikman’s three. In their 10 years as teammates, the Triplets won 101 regular-season games, made the playoffs eight times and won three Super Bowls.

Larry Allen

Good luck picking who, between Allen and Rayfield Wright, was the greatest Cowboys’ offensive lineman ever. Allen was the rock that protected Aikman and paved the way for Smith, and slid all over the line to do so, although guard is where he’ll be remembered. An all-decade player in the 1990s and 2000s.

Rayfield Wright

At right tackle, he protected Roger Staubach, opened lanes for Tony Dorsett and handled the likes of the Steel Curtain, the Purple People Eaters and the Orange Crush in playoff games and Super Bowls throughout the 1970s. Waited far too long to get into Canton (didn’t become a finalist until 2004, 15 years after his retirement, and was inducted in ’06).

Mel Renfro

When the Cowboys had beasts at every level of their defense in the ‘70s, Renfro was the beast in the secondary. While Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters were hitting receivers, Renfro was smothering them at cornerback. Played in four Super Bowls and won two, including his last game, Super Bowl XII in 1978 against Denver.

Randy White

Speaking of beasts, White picked up the nickname “Manster” (half-man, half-monster) when he settled in on the defensive line that included Too Tall Jones, Harvey Martin and Larry Cole. Incredibly strong for his size and quick for his position, he and Martin were co-MVPs in the Super Bowl win over Denver in ’78.

David Steele

David Steele Photo

David Steele writes about the NFL for Sporting News, which he joined in 2011 as a columnist. He has previously written for AOL FanHouse, the Baltimore Sun, San Francisco Chronicle and Newsday. He co-authored Olympic champion Tommie Smith's autobiography, Silent Gesture.