On the day he was drafted by the Cowboys in 1990, Emmitt Smith made a bold prediction, stating that not only would he eventually be in the Ring of Honor, but that he would surpass Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Most people brushed it off, assuming that anyone bold enough to wear black and yellow polka-dotted overalls on his first day at the job would also make a few outlandish statements.
Only it wasn't so bold after all. Smith backed up his claims, proving to be one of the league's greatest running backs.
Smith did surpass Payton's 16,726-yard record in 2002 to become the NFL's all-time rushing champ and eventually pushed the mark to 18,355 yards before he finally retired in 2004 after a 15-year career. During his tenure, he was named first-team All-Pro four times and received eight invites to the Pro Bowl.
But along the way, Smith showed he was more than just a running back who could rack up yards. He was the engine on a Cowboys' machine that ran through, and over, most of its opponents en route to becoming the Team of the 1990s.
The Cowboys had plenty of weapons, but they just weren't the same without Smith in the lineup. That was never more evident than in the 1993 season, which began without the star rusher, who was in a contract dispute with owner Jerry Jones. Dallas lost both games he missed and fell to 0-2 before the matter was solved.
And when Smith came back, the Cowboys got hot, winning seven straight and 12 of their last 14, the only two losses coming in November when Smith was limited while battling through an injury. His pivotal moment occurred in the regular-season finale that year when he played through a separated shoulder against the New York Giants, single-handedly carrying the Cowboys to a 16-13 overtime win that clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Smith was then able to lead the Cowboys to another Super Bowl, winning MVP honors both for the game and for the entire season.
Smith went on to post 11 straight 1,000-yard campaigns, another NFL record, and totaled the most rushing touchdowns in league history with 164. A Ring of Honor inductee in 2005, he was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2010 and was named a member of the NFL's All-Time 100 greatest players list, which was announced in 2019.
