In continuation of the All-Time Cowboys series, we shift focus to the running backs. Ezekiel Elliott is the latest in a long run of top running backs to put the star on the side of their helmets. The Cowboys started their franchise with two backs splitting time between L.G. Dupre and Don McIlhenny. Eventually the Cowboys went with a combination of Walt Garrison, Calvin Hill and Robert Newhouse.
Much like the quarterback position, the running backs for America’s Team garner plenty of the spotlight. The two most well known RBs are arguably Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith. Up until Dorsett, the team’s all-time leading rusher was fullback Don Perkins who played from 1961-68. He rushed for 6,217 yards while being named first team All-Pro on three different occasions. Dorsett would eventually shatter his mark, and Smith would go on to shatter the NFL record.
Here is what a two-deep depth chart would look like at running back for the All-Time Cowboys.
First Team
Emmitt Smith (1990-2002)
The Dallas Cowboys traded up to 17th overall in the first round to select Emmitt Smith in the 1990 NFL Draft. Smith was coming off three consecutive All-American selections for the University of Florida. He finished as a top 10 finalist for the Heisman Trophy Award in his freshman and junior seasons.
At the time, he and Hershel Walker were the only two freshmen to finish inside the top 10 in the Heisman voting. Smith would establish 58 school records during his three years in Gainesville before heading to the NFL.
One year after Dallas had landed their franchise QB when they selected Troy Aikman with the first overall pick of the 1989 Draft, Smith would join the Cowboys and become the engine that powered them to win three Super Bowls over Smith’s first five years as a professional. In that time, Emmitt became one of the elite running backs in the league.
Still, to this day, fans of the NFL from the 1990s are arguing over who was better between Barry Sanders and Smith. For a player viewed as too small and slow for the NFL, Smith proved to be one of the most durable backs in the history of the league. He holds NFL records for the most carriers in a career (4,409), touchdowns (164), and, of course, yards (18,355). His single-season touchdown record of 25 was eventually broken by LaDainian Tomlinson.
Emmitt would provide some memorable games over the years. In 1993, after sitting out the first two games over a contract dispute following the Super Bowl win in 1992, Smith would return and win the league’s MVP award.
In the final game of that season, with the NFC East title and a playoff bye on the line against the New York Giants, Smith would play with a separated shoulder and still manage to account for 229 yards in a career-defining performance. Smith would go on to be named Super Bowl MVP that year, as well.
In his final year as a Dallas Cowboy, Smith finally broke his childhood idol Walter Payton’s record to become the all-time leading rusher in NFL history. He would play two more seasons in Arizona before retiring from the game as one of the all-time greats.
Accomplishments:
Three-time All-SEC
Three-time All-American
1989 SEC MVP
Heisman Trophy Finalist
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
Eight-time Pro Bowl Selection
Four-time first-team All-Pro
Two-time second-team All-Pro
Four-time rushing champion
Three-time Super Bowl Champion
Super Bowl XXVIII MVP
1993 NFL MVP
1990’s All-Decade Team
NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor
Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee
College Football Hall of Fame Inductee
NFL’s All-Time Leading Rusher
Second Team
Tony Dorsett (1977-87)
In college at Pittsburgh, Tony Dorsett was a man among boys. No freshman had been named to the All-American team since 1944 until Dorsett was selected in 1973. His 1,586 yards were the most ever by a freshman running back. By the time he ended his career, TD earned himself multiple individual awards and a National Championship at Pitt. To date, that 1976 Panthers team is the last to win a title.
After finishing his college career as the then all-time NCAA leader in rushing yards, Dorsett would be selected second overall in the 1977 NFL Draft by the Cowboys after Dallas swung a trade with the expansion Seattle Seahawks to move up.
Dorsett made an immediate impact on the team when he rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first nine games. That initial success was a Cowboys record that stood until Elliott came along. Dorsett was named Rookie of the Year and helped the Cowboys win the Super Bowl in his debut season.
Dorsett would play for Dallas until 1987 when he was traded to the Denver Broncos ahead of the 1988 season. The Cowboys had struck success at landing another franchise runner when a young Herschel Walker joined the team and eventually replaced Dorsett, but not before Dorsett had contributed 12,036 rushing yards as a Cowboy. Dorsett’s career mark of 12,739 is still 10th most in NFL history.
Dorsett is perhaps most remembered for one play: a 99-yard touchdown run against the Minnesota Vikings in 1983 on Monday Night Football. The primetime scamper was an NFL record until Derrick Henry matched that mark in 2018. What made the play even more memorable was the fact that the Cowboys only had 10 players on the field. Dorsett didn’t even need a full team to show why he was an all-time elite runner.
Accomplishments:
Three-time All-American
National Champion
Heisman Trophy winner
Number 33 Pitt Panthers jersey retired
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
Four-time Pro Bowl Selection
First-Team All-Pro
Two-time second-team All-Pro
Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
College Football Hall of Fame inductee
Do you agree with Emmitt over Dorsett? Share your No. 1 RB in Cowboys history with Patrick on Twitter @PatSportsGuy.
