The proceedings haven’t produced much postseason glory for the Dallas Cowboys of late.
Over the last 10 seasons spanning this decade, without factoring in the upcoming game, America’s Team will finish the 2010s above .500. The Cowboys went 85-74 in their 159 bouts from 2010 to 2019. They were 2-3 in the playoffs, however.
For a storied franchise that came into the decade with hopes of reclaiming its legacy as a perennial Super Bowl contender, 1-3 in the important games isn’t anything to write home about. But, as the decade draws to a close, there are still reasons to look back fondly on this era for Dallas.
With that in mind, we name the very best Cowboys on offense from over the last 10 years.
The All-2010s Team - Offense:
Quarterback: Tony Romo
Because of the nature of the years they played being virtually split, deciding on a quarterback to represent this team was an exceedingly difficult choice. Both were deserving. Both had their merits and flaws. The decade opened with veteran Pro Bowler Tony Romo battling to drag the team to prominence and ended with current starter Dak Prescott excelling at his position as a fourth-rounder but with underachieving squads.
Joking about Matt Cassel being the selection aside, ultimately Romo just meant more to the success of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2010s. In the years spanning the early part of the decade, Tony carried less talented teams to three consecutive 8-8 seasons before the breakthrough in 2014. That year was an NFL Most Valuable Player-caliber season for Romo. The Cowboys were 40-32 in games started by the now-network broadcasting star.
During his five plus seasons at the helm, Romo threw for 19,138 yards with 141 touchdowns to 62 interceptions with a passer rating of 98.3. Tony Romo holds the Dallas Cowboys’ franchise records for passer rating, passing yards and passing touchdowns as one of the best undrafted free agent quarterbacks in NFL history. Dak will get his due in upcoming years but for the 2010s, it was still Romo’s team.
Running Back: Ezekiel Elliott
Running back ended up being another position that was hotly contested between two stars. Like Romo vs Dak, the RB position was a battle between the early-decade success of DeMarco Murray vs the late charge of Ezekiel Elliott.
While Murray’s 2014 season might have been the best overall year by a runner over the course of the decade for Dallas, the nod for this team goes to Elliott due to his statistical dominance in the league since Dallas made him the fourth overall selection of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Elliott played in just two more games than Murray but ran for 757 more yards and 11 more rushing touchdowns. Since Elliott joined the team, no running back in the league has more 100-yard games (25) and no back has as many rushing yards (5,283). The next closest back would be Todd Gurley with 1,053 fewer yards than Elliott.
When you factor in their total yards from scrimmage, Elliott bested Murray by 1,174 total yards and 15 more touchdowns. Elliott has been a huge factor in the team’s success, including notably a 13-3 finish with a rushing title in his rookie season, and had it not been for the team’s unwillingness to feed Zeke in the red zone over the last few seasons of the decade, and a contested suspension, one could imagine a much larger difference between the two.
Wide Receivers
Dez Bryant
Bryant was head and shoulders above the rest of the field during his eight-year run with the Cowboys starting in 2010. His 73 receiving touchdowns are a franchise record that broke NFL Hall of Famer Bullet Bob Hayes’ mark of 71 touchdowns. The TD record was set back in 1974 and it took 34 years for another Cowboys player to break it.
During his rookie campaign, the Cowboys’ first draft pick of the decade (24th overall in the first round) showed what an offensive threat he could be as a punt returner. Ironically, the No. 1 receiver on the all-decade team scored his first-ever touchdown in the NFL via on a punt return against the Chicago Bears. Bryant added another punt return score against the New York Giants later that season. And while he eventually stopped being a returner in 2012, his two return touchdowns are still atop the list for the entire decade in Dallas.
Bryant didn’t make his bread and butter as punt returner, of course. As a receiver, Bryant’s 2012-2014 numbers were some were top in the entire league. The three-time Pro Bowl selection and 2014 first-team All-Pro racked up 3,935 yards which were 5th most in that span and he had the most touchdown receptions in the league with 41 in those years.
The back-shoulder fade in the red zone from Romo to Dez was such a gimme that it feels like those two could go out and put six on the board today in their sleep if called upon. Some of the biggest highlights of the decade were of Romo lofting the ball to Bryant as a prayer and then Bryant going up and hauling it in as the only person on the field with even a chance to get it.
Dak to Amari Cooper has been a revelation in Dallas over the last season and a half but Romo to Dez was a special combination throughout the 2010s.
Terrance Williams
The man known as T-Will is probably going to best be remembered for his flummoxing body catches and not getting out of bounds to stop the clock against the Giants in the 2016 opener that cost Prescott and Elliott a chance to win in their debut.
However, perhaps forgotten in recent years, Williams was a really good compliment to Bryant during the middle years of this decade. From 2013-2018, Williams hauled in 232 receptions for 3,377 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was also the recipient of two of the most memorable plays for the Cowboys in their run in 2014.
Who can forget the play against Houston when Romo was able to navigate the pocket to hit Williams on the sideline on a 3rd and 20 with Dallas driving to take the lead. Williams snared the ball with a miraculous catch where he dragged both feet to come down in bounds for a first down and Dallas took a game no one expected them to win.
With a few more seasons, Cooper easily could have grabbed this spot, but for his steady contributions throughout the decade, Williams deserves to be recognized.
Cole Beasley
Cole Beasley, the sauce master himself, makes the list as the slot receiver of the decade. He joined the Cowboys in 2012 as an undrafted free agent and was a go-to guy for both Romo and Prescott. Beasley was a first down generator with an average of 10.3 yards per reception. He finished his time in Dallas with 23 touchdowns, a total that was second for receivers only to Bryant during this decade.
The story of Beasley almost never came to fruition when the SMU product left training camp shortly after arriving in Oxnard, California. When he returned, he stayed for good, and it wasn’t long before he became the reliable weapon that this team needed in critical moments. His catch rate of 70.9% led all receivers and was only second to tight end Jason Witten.
Tight End: Jason Witten
Gold Jacket Witt is the selection at tight end. There’s not even really much of a debate because no other tight end could actually get on the field with Witten ahead of them on the depth chart. However, ol’ reliable was as crucial for the offense over the decade as they come. He’ll finish the decade with the second-most receiving yards of 6,988 and has a chance to crack 7,000 on Sunday afternoon in Arlington. Witten was also second to Bryant in receiving touchdowns this decade with 45 and he had the best catch rate at 71.8%.
In addition to historic raw production at his position, Witten’s toughness cannot be questioned. A fractured jaw couldn’t stop the man. All he did was have it wired shut so he could play. He refused to miss a single game when Raiders’ linebacker and future teammate Rolando McClain hit Witten so hard he lacerated his spleen. Witten was and remains as tough as they come.
His best moment as a Cowboy didn’t come this decade but his helmetless run against the Eagles is as an iconic a Cowboys moment as there is. If this Sunday is the last we see of Witten as a Cowboys, take a bow and the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio awaits.
Offensive Line
Tyron Smith - LT
Much like Witten, the only possible selection at this spot is Tyron Smith. And that’s a good thing. Smith is a mountain of man that looks as if he was chiseled out of stone. The 9th overall selection out of USC in 2011 has played in 131 games for Dallas over the decade and in each of them, he was one of the best players on the field.
Injuries haven’t allowed him to play a full season since 2015 but Smith is still a handful on the outside. Never is it more apparent how much Smith means to the team than when he isn’t on the field protecting the blindside. With hands like vice grips, Smith is a tough matchup for most defensive ends who look to challenge him and Smith has been winning those battles for the last nine seasons.
Smith has been selected to the Pro Bowl in seven straight seasons and he is a four-time All-Pro selection. Smith was named to the first team in 2014 and 2016, the second team in 2013 and 2015.
Ron Leary - G
Leary joined the Cowboys team in 2012 after not being selected in the draft due to concerns over a degenerative knee condition. Nevertheless, Leary was a huge part of the success on the offensive line up the middle, especially during that 2014 season where Murray rushed for 1,845 yards and Romo had an MVP caliber year.
In that season, Leary started 15 games for the Cowboys. Over his five seasons in Dallas, Leary started 47 games and played in 48 total. Leary also helped block for Elliott and Prescott in their rookie season of 2016 with Elliott claiming his first rushing title and Prescott winning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Travis Frederick - C
Frederick joined the team in 2013 as their first-round draft picks out of Wisconsin. At the time, Frederick’s selection was under scrutiny due to many analysts feeling as though Frederick was a reach and the center position wasn’t a value option for the first round. The draft day thoughts are well behind him now as he proved the critics wrong by being the leader and anchor of an elite offensive line unit. The man known as Fredbeard is a three-time All-Pro selection with one nod on the first-team (2016) and twice on second-team (2014-2015).
As great as a player as Frederick is, he is an even better man off of the field. His foundation Block Out Hunger was set up to aid inner-city and lower-income children who struggle with hunger. His work in the community has earned him an opportunity to join teammate Witten as Walter Payton Man of the Year after being nominated for the honor earlier in December.
Frederick has also been an inspiration for so many. Frederick’s work in the community to help others is noble and he’s also overcome a lot to get back onto the field with his teammates while under the pressure of being a performer for the Cowboys. Prior to the 2018 season, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The disorder attacks the nerves and left the hulking lineman without his strength, costing him the entire season. Frederick battled to get back all within the spotlight in Dallas and returned to form in 2019. Frederick’s story is one that should motivate anyone who is fighting their own battles.
Zack Martin - G
Martin was the final of three first-round offensive linemen selected (14th overall in 2014) in the decade in hopes of prolonging the career of Romo. Since joining the Cowboys, the former Notre Dame offensive tackle has been selected to the Pro Bowl every season at right guard. He has fought through injuries to play all but two possible games in his career. He is as consistent as they come and a standout even among one of the best units in football this decade.
Martin has also been named an All-Pro in every season of his career leading up to this year. Martin earned a First-Team selection three times (2014, 2016, 2018) and has twice been a second-team selection (2015, 2017).
Regarded as the best offensive guard in all of football, Martin is seeking his sixth-straight All-Pro selection and would perhaps make the team even if he weren’t one of the best football players in the NFL simply for being the team’s selection over Johnny Manziel in the 2014 NFL Draft against Jerry Jones’ wishes.
Doug Free - RT
The forgotten man along the line has to be Doug Free. Free joined Dallas as part of the 2007 NFL Draft as a fourth-rounder and remained with the Cowboys throughout his career. He retired from the game following the 2016 season, making way for La’el Collins to take over at tackle. Free was never honored with a trip to the Pro Bowl or named an All-Pro but one could argue he was the veteran glue for a much-praised and highly valuable offensive line.
Free finished his career with 114 starts and 124 games played overall in his 10-year stint with the Dallas Cowboys.
Who would you pick for the All-2010s team? Romo or Dak? Zeke or Murray? Rowdy or the Meadowlands Black Cat? Make your selections known to Patrick Conn on Twitter @DraftCowboys.
