OP, thanks for this thread. It is something I often thought about last year.
To start off, I see a few posters who aren't exactly giving any love for the late Mark Tuinei. Tuinei made two Pro Bowls and zero All-Pro teams. But don't fault him for that. At the beginning of Tui's career at LT he played in the considerable shadows of Anthony Munoz (bar none, the best NFL tackle of all-time), Jimbo Covert, Gary Zimmerman and Joe Jacoby and later in his career, in the shadows of Willie Roaf and Tony Boselli. He also played with perennial All-Pros and Pro Bowlers to his right, and therefore was cast in the shadows of LA, Nate Newton, Step and the Big E.
Tui was one of the strongest players on the Cowboys - early on when Randy White and Danny Noonan were on the roster and later, when Chad Hennings, Newton and Larry Allen were on the roster. He had brute strength for the running game and was an under-rated but very good pass blocker. He neutralized Bruce Smith in two SBs, and Smith is almost certainly a top 5 DE in NFL history.
Was Tui better than Tyron Smith is now? I think it is close, very close. TS is easily the better athlete and while TS is powerful, I'd personally give Tui the edge in strength. Still, I think TS will eventually become regarded as the 2nd or 3rd best tackle in Cowboys history. Rayfield Wright probably gets top billing for longevity but Williams was the best OT the Cowboys ever fielded when he was healthy. FWIW, I think Williams was the 2nd best tackle I ever saw; Munoz was no. 1. The Big E was headed for Canton before his injury.
At LG, Newton made six Pro Bowls and two AP teams. He also was brutally strong and one of the few OL of that era that could block William Perry man-on-man. Perry weighed 340 and was rumored to leg press 1100 lbs. He disrupted the inside running game and made life easier for Mike Singletary for those great Bears teams. Since there is no question between Martin and LA, it comes down to whether Martin could have beat out Newton at LG. Right now, I'm going with Big Nate but like TS, I think Martin can rocket up the Cowboys all-time list of guards and pass Blaine Nye, Herb Scott and Newton in the very near future.
It gets hard at C. Step weighed 265 but benched 450 lbs coming out of Pitt. He was no lightweight in the weight room and he had good technique. He made five Pro Bowls and was named to the 1990s All NFL Team. Frederick can pass him but it's not a cakewalk. I might give Fred the edge because he is a little stronger and has 35 lbs on Step.
At RT, there is no comparison between Free and Williams. And if you want to compare Tyron Smith vs Erik Williams, I take Williams in the blink of an eye.
Since I admit TS is more athletic than Tui, today I'd line up Smith-Newton-Frederick-Allen-Williams.
Oh yeah, and I'd get Adrian Peterson and run him 25 times a game to the right side and he'd average about 175 yards a game as the Cowboys would score 40 ppg.
