Rank'Em: Top 25 Rookie Seasons In Team History

Honorable Mention: DeMarco Murray (2011) – As a whole, Murray's rookie season wasn't earth-shattering as he finished with 897 yards and two touchdowns. But you can't have a list like this without at least including the best rookie performance in team history as Murray torched the Rams for a team-record 253 rushing yards, including a 91-yard run to start the game. And just imagine if Murray had started the game. The 253 yards is the most in NFL history for a player that didn't start.

25. Herschel Walker (1986) – The reason he's so low on this list is not for his production, but more of his status. Walker certainly wasn't straight out of college when he got to the Cowboys in 1986, having spent three full seasons as a star tailback in the USFL, where he totaled over 5,550 rushing yards. So in 1986, he was more than polished, but still produced 1,574 combined yards with 14 touchdowns.

24. DeMarco Murray (2011) – As a whole, Murray's rookie season wasn't earth-shattering as he finished with 897 yards and two touchdowns. But you can't have a list like this without at least including the best rookie performance in team history as Murray torched the Rams for a team-record 253 rushing yards, including a 91-yard run to start the game. And just imagine if Murray had started the game. The 253 yards is the most in NFL history for a player that didn't start.

23. Larry Cole (1968) – Back in this time, there were 17 rounds of the NFL Draft. And the Cowboys nearly got to the end before taking Cole in the 16th round out of Hawaii. Cole ended up playing in all 14 games, starting 10. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown against Washington, the first of four career touchdowns for the defensive tackle. Fun fact – all four of Cole's touchdowns were against Washington.

22. Don Perkins (1961) – In the second year of the Cowboys' franchise, Perkins had 815 rushing yards and four touchdowns to earn a Pro Bowl spot. He was the first rookie to earn a Pro Bowl selection and just third overall in team history.

21. Julius Jones (2004) – The fact he played eight games moved him down the list. The fact he rushed for 818 yards with three games of 150 yards or more in half-a-season is the reason he made it. Jones had a night to remember in Seattle, rushing for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

20. Terence Newman (2003) – Expectations were through the roof for Newman, picked No. 5 overall and just a few years removed from Deion Sanders being on the team. But while he didn't meet those lofty standards, Newman had a really good season, with four interceptions, including three in one game against Washington. He was a Pro Bowl alternate and finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting behind future Hall of Famer Terrell Suggs.

19. Dexter Coakley (1997) – An undersized linebacker from Appalachian State ended up having a bigger role in the defense than the Cowboys could've predicted. Coakley recorded 136 tackles, including a team-high 10 for loss with two turnovers and a fumble returned for a TD.

18. DeMarcus Ware (2005) – The pass-rusher from Troy had a strong finish to his rookie year with four sacks in the final two games to tie Greg Ellis for the team lead with eight. Ware held the single-season rookie sack record for 16 years until Micah Parsons passed him.

17. Michael Downs (1981) – Always overshadowed by Everson Walls' record-breaking rookie year, Downs was also an undrafted player from Rice, who ended up starting 15 games for the Cowboys. He also had seven interceptions as a rookie, which is tied for second-most in team history for first-year players.

16. Jimmie Jones (1990) – Picked in the third round out of Miami, Jones joined a team and staff full of former Hurricanes. And he fit in right in. Although he was just a rotational player, he recorded 7.5 sacks during his rookie season – most in franchise history by a defensive tackle.

15. Dan Bailey (2011) – When he missed a 21-yard field goal in Week 2 against the 49ers, it didn't seem like Bailey's rookie season would last long. He got the chance to redeem himself later in the game with two more clutch field goals that he made. Bailey went on to make four game-winners that season and was 32 of 37 on all attempts.

14. Nick Folk (2007) – Became the first Cowboys rookie kicker to make the Pro Bowl, although he was one of 13 Cowboys selected in the game. Folk only missed five field goals and hit some clutch kicks, including a game-winner in Buffalo.

13. CeeDee Lamb (2020) – For over 55 years, the Cowboys' rookie record for catches in a season with 46 by Bob Hayes. Not only did Lamb break the record, he did it in the 10th game of the season in Minnesota. That was also the game in which he made one of the most remarkable catches, a touchdown grab in which he torqued his body in mid-air to haul in the pass. Lamb also set an NFL record for being the first rookie to start his career with at least five catches in the first six games of the year.

12. Emmitt Smith (1990) – There aren't many lists in which Emmitt ranks this low but his rookie campaign in 1990 was just a mild start to the consistent superstar he later became. He missed all of training camp to a contract holdout and only had eight carries for 13 yards after Week 2. But a 103-yard game against the Cardinals with four touchdowns helped earn Smith eventually reach 937 yards for the season with a spot in the Pro Bowl.

11. Calvin Hill (1969) – Taking over for Duane Thomas wasn't the easiest task for the rookie from Yale. Not only did he rush for 942 yards and eight touchdowns, but Hill earned All-Pro honors. For the next 45 seasons, no other Cowboys rookie accomplished that feat.

10. Roy Williams (2002) – And to think this was the year before Williams made five straight Pro Bowls. But he a dynamic rookie on a struggling 5-11 team. Williams had 127 tackles – many of which were bone-jarring hits. He also tied all NFL rookies with five interceptions, including two for TDs against Washington.

9. Leighton Vander Esch (2018) – Although the first-round pick got off to a rather quiet start, LVE took full advantage of an injury to Sean Lee that gave him more playing time. With that, Vander Esch recorded the most tackles by a rookie in franchise history with 176, the fourth-most by any player in team history. He was named to the Pro Bowl and an All-Pro.

8. Zack Martin (2014) – The first-round pick joined Calvin Hill as the only two offensive rookies to earn All-Pro selections for the Cowboys. Martin's arrival seemed to put the Dallas O-Line to another level as the offense cruised to a 12-4 season and he helped DeMarco Murray to a franchise-record 1,845 rushing yards.

7. Mel Renfro (1964) – Renfro was part of one of the best draft classes in NFL history that included other Hall-of-Famers Bob Hayes and Roger Staubach. Playing safety, Renfro not only had seven interceptions to earn Pro Bowl honors but he was one of the NFL's best return specialists, even scoring on a punt return.

6. Bob Hayes (1964) – While Renfro's play was somewhat expected, Hayes' rookie season was rather surprising considering his limited football background. "The Bullet" proved his Olympic track speed could translate to the NFL as he caught 46 passes for 1,003 yards and 12 TDs.

5. Tony Dorsett (1977)– The speedy tailback took a few games before getting into the starting lineup, but once he gained Tom Landry's full trust, Dorsett helped lead an offense to an eventual Super Bowl title. His 1,007 yards and 12 TDs stood as Cowboys' rookie records until 2016.

4. Ezekiel Elliott (2016) – Not only did Zeke surpass Dorsett's franchise-rookie record, but he did so in his first carry of the 10th game. He not only won the rushing title with 1,631 yards, the fifth-most in Cowboys' history, but finished with 1,994 all-purpose yards, the third-highest NFL total in league history.

3. Everson Walls (1981) – Walls' remarkable 1981 season was reference several times this year as Trevon Diggs tied his record with 11 picks. But let's not forget Walls did that as a rookie. Imagine an undrafted rookie from Grambling making the team out of training camp and earning a starting spot in Week 1. That would be impressive enough but for Walls to go on and lead the NFL with 11 interceptions is the reason he ranks so high. Walls is the only player in the modern Super Bowl era to have more than 10 picks as a rookie.

2. Micah Parsons (2021) – And to think that 11 teams actually passed on him is incredible. But not even the Cowboys seemed to know just how instinctive Parsons would be as a pass-rusher and that trait alone is what made him such a dynamic rookie in 2021. He shattered Ware's single-season rookie sack record with 13 despite playing linebacker most of the time. Parsons was a unanimous choice for Defensive Rookie of the Year, but also finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, as he was aiming to be the first rookie to win the award since Lawrence Taylor (1981).

1. Dak Prescott (2016) – Another unanimous pick for Rookie of the Year, Prescott exceeded every expectation and then some. The simple fact that Tony Romo couldn't get his job back when healthy is arguably the clearest example of what Dak was able to do. Throw in his records and milestones - an NFL record for QB rating (104.9) and completion percentage (67.8) for rookies, tied the NFL record for most wins by a rookie with 13 and he broke Tom Brady's mark of consecutive passes to begin a career without a pick – and you've got one of the best rookie seasons by any player in the history of the game.