• Tyron Smith and Zack Martin have etched their place in Cowboys history: Martin and Smith have been the pillars of the Cowboys offensive line over the last decade-plus, combining to play an astounding 21,541 snaps.
• Dak Prescott comes out on top: Between Tony Romo and his eventual successor, Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have enjoyed top-tier quarterback play for much of the last decade. However, Prescott's 2023 season stands out as the highest-graded season for any Cowboy since 2006.
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Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
PFF has collected football data since the 2006 NFL season. That allows us to look back at almost two decades of grades and numbers and pick out the best seasons at each position.
Here are the top players at each position for the Dallas Cowboys in that span and some key takeaways from the data. Sign up for PFF+ today to unlock advanced NFL grades and statistics dating back to 2006.
QB: Dak Prescott (2023, 90.3 PFF Grade)
RB: Tony Pollard (2022, 90.2)
WR: CeeDee Lamb (2023, 91.1)
WR: Dez Bryant (2014, 90.2)
WR: Terrell Owens (2007, 86.4)
TE: Jason Witten (2007, 91.8)
LT: Tyron Smith (2015, 92.9)
LG: Kyle Kosier (2009, 84.1)
C: Travis Frederick (2014, 89.9)
RG: Zack Martin (2021, 93.7)
RT: La'el Collins (2019, 86.4)
Edge: Micah Parsons (2023, 92.5)
Edge: DeMarcus Lawrence (2017, 92.3)
DI: Jason Ferguson (2006, 81.4)
DI: Chris Canty (2007, 80.9)
LB: Sean Lee (2015, 88.4)
LB: Leighton Vander Esch (2018, 85.4)
CB: DaRon Bland (2023, 89.5)
CB: Terence Newman (2007, 82.2)
S: Barry Church (2016, 86.1)
S: J.J. Wilcox (2016, 82.1)
K: Brandon Aubrey (2023, 90.2)
P: Bryan Anger (2023, 87.5)
K/PR: Dwayne Harris (2013, 88.2)
ST: Luke Gifford (2022, 90.7)
*minimum 500 snaps except for running back (minimum of 100 carries)
Stalwarts on the offensive line
Zack Martin and Tyron Smith have been the pillars of the Dallas Cowboys offensive line over the last decade-plus, combining to play an astounding 21,541 snaps. Martin has consistently dominated, earning overall grades above 80.0 in seven of his 10 seasons. Not to be outdone, Smith achieved this feat in eight of his 13 years.
Martin has been a fortress in pass protection, allowing just 172 pressures and a mere 15 sacks over 5,830 pass-blocking snaps. On the left side, Smith has surrendered 299 pressures but only 34 sacks from his 6,303 pass-blocking snaps.
Martin's 93.7 PFF grade in 2021 stands as the highest single-season grade by any Cowboy since 2006.
A season to remember for Dak Prescott
Between Tony Romo and his eventual successor, Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have enjoyed top-tier quarterback play for much of the last decade. However, Prescott's 2023 season stands out as the highest-graded season for any Cowboy since 2006.
In 2023, Prescott completed 452 of his 651 attempts, achieving career highs in completion percentage (69.4%), touchdowns (39), big-time throw rate (5.9%) and turnover-worthy play rate (2.2%). His impressive performance earned him an 87.0 PFF passing grade, ranking third in the league behind only Tua Tagovailoa (88.6) and Josh Allen (88.2).
DaRon Bland with a sophomore year for the ages
The second-year cornerback shattered an NFL record in 2023, returning five interceptions for touchdowns. These highlight-reel plays elevated his PFF grade to 89.5, the second-highest mark of the 2023 season and the best single-season grade by a Cowboys corner since 2006.
Looking ahead to 2024, the question for Bland will be whether he can improve his consistency. While he led the league with nine interceptions, he also allowed 52 catches for 730 receiving yards, with catches made in his coverage averaging 14.0 yards per reception last year.
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