From Deion Sanders to Micah Parsons, ranking the best Cowboys athletes
FORT WORTH, Texas — Micah Parsons will win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
And he should be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, too, but don’t plan on a sweep.
A handful of voters will run from this because they won’t want to put someone in the exact same category as former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who won both awards in 1981. He is the only player in the history of the NFL to achieve this feat.
People who regard LT as the best defensive player ever — and he is — may be leery of putting anyone in the exact same sentence.
(FYI: There are 50 voters for these awards, among them include Pro Football Talk reporter Charean Williams, as well as Tony Dungy and Troy Aikman.)
MP11 is not LT, but what he is doing in 2021 merits these awards.
Look at the horrific football tragedy that was the 2020 Dallas Cowboys defense. They gave up nearly 30 points every Sunday and an average of 386 yards per game. They came up with 31 sacks and forced a total of 23 turnovers. They finished 6-10.
Now look at the 2021 Dallas Cowboys defense. They’re giving up 20 points and 350 yards per game, and they have 37 sacks and 33 turnovers through 15 games. They are 11-4, have already won the NFC East, and could still earn the top seed in the NFC.
A lot of this, though not quite all, is because of Parsons.
All of this is happening because Parsons is one of the best athletes in the history of the Dallas Cowboys.
He has said playing in the NFL is easy because, for Parsons, it is easy.
Amadeus wrote his own music when he was 5. Picasso could draw before he could talk. Judit Polgar was a grand master in chess when she was 15.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has put Parsons at nearly every single position a defender can play, and it’s evident Parsons can play everywhere but nose tackle.
He had a faster 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine than fellow Cowboys wide receiver and punt returner CeeDee Lamb. Parsons ran a 4.39 in 2021; Lamb ran a 4.51 in 2020.
As much as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may want to, he can’t put Parson’s No. 11 in the Ring of Honor today, but don’t rule out tomorrow.
Parsons should have a long career ahead of him, but he already ranks among the best athletes in the storied history of the Dallas Cowboys.
Here is our list of the top 12:
12. Troy Aikman, QB, 19892000; Pro Football Hall of Fame
People forget that the three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback was quite the high school baseball player. He could have pursued a pro baseball career had the football thing bombed.
11. Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, LB, 1975-79
Had it not been for Henderson’s off-the-field issues he would be a member of the Ring of Honor. A first-round pick from Langston University, athletically, Henderson could do anything. His clashes with coach Tom Landry, and a drug abuse problem, however, ended his NFL career in 1980.
10. Cornell Green, DB, 196274
Green didn’t play college football at Utah State, but rather was an All-American basketball player. The Cowboys signed Green, who didn’t figure he would make the team. He started 173 of his 182 NFL games, and every one from the start of the 1963 season.
9. “Bullet” Bob Hayes, WR, 1965-75; Pro Football Hall of Fame
He won two track and field gold medals (100, 4x100 relay) at the 1964 Summer Olympics. The wide receiver changed the way other teams played defense, and it’s believed that Hayes is the reason defenses created double coverage, and the bumpand-run.
8. Tony Romo, QB, 2004-16
He did not have a dominating physical stature, but as an athlete he was much better than he ever received credit. He is an excellent golfer and, in high school, his sport was basketball over football. He could have played small college basketball. Romo had nimble, quick feet which allowed him to elude pass rushers and he could throw the ball out of several angles.
7. Rayfield “Big Cat” Wright, T, 196779; Pro Football Hall of Fame
Wright was a seventh-round pick out of Fort Valley State. In high school he was actually a better basketball player, but he was such a good athlete he took to football. The Cowboys tried him at tight end and defensive lineman before he became one of the best blockers of his generation.
6. Randy White, “The Manster,” DT, 1975-88; Pro Football Hall of Fame
He grew up playing linebacker, defensive line and fullback. When he came to the Cowboys out of the University of Maryland, he quickly established himself as one of the best players at his position for more than a decade. He had good feet, was quick, fast and could overpower a bull, so opposing guards were of little concern.
5. Herschel Walker, RB, 1986-89, 199697
Walker was a genetic freak. He played in the NFL for 12 seasons, but he could have played a number of other sports without trying. He tried his hand at MMA, ballet and he was even on the U.S. bobsled team at the 1992 Winter Olympics.
4. Roger Staubach, “Captain America,” QB, 1969-79; Pro Football Hall of Fame
Along with Fran Tarkenton, Staubach was one of the original running quarterbacks who could throw it with accuracy. Do yourself a favor and watch Roger highlights.
3. Micah Parsons, LB, 2021-present Line him up anywhere and he will hold his own, or dominate the guy across from him.
2. Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, CB, 1995-98; Pro Football Hall of Fame
Sanders is one of few athletes to play two major sports at the same time. Along with Brian Jordan and Bo Jackson, they all played in the NFL and MLB in the same years. Prime Time played in the NFL from 1989 to 2005, and while he was a cocky such-and-such he could get away it because he was just that good.
1. Larry Allen, OL, 1994-2005; Pro Football Hall of Fame
Allen was 6-foot-3, 325 pounds and he was so athletic he could have played point guard. He once bench pressed 700 pounds, but his chasing down Saints linebacker Darion Conner to prevent a pick-six at New Orleans in 1994 will forever remain one of the most impressive plays in the history of the NFL.