Name a former Dallas Cowboy player you believe is the most underrated

[Bullflop]

Vote for the most underrated, you say. I submit my vote for none other than Don Meredith. Is that behind the times?

 

[Wangchung83]

Tony Romo and one day Dak Prescott.

lol all the former greats and you pick your boy Dak who a current playe?. Just like reading defenses in post season isn’t Dak’s strong suit; reading comprehension isn’t yours.
Romo was good but not underrated, he couldn’t win in the post season bc all the money was on offense. Same with Dak up until a year ago when it started evening out. Have to invest in both sides of the ball, unfortunately Romo never had a defense that was invested in.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Terrence Newman.

Fans didn’t like him because he didn’t get picks but the guy was shutdown for years.

Opposite of our current corners. Interesting to see how this will mesh with Zimm who coached Newman.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Sean Lee. When he was healthy.

Got a glimpse of his greatness those 2 years he was healthy. Might be ROH material if he had stayed healthy his entire career.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Tony Tolbert. Was overshadowed by other names, but dude was a beast. He was so good in the SB vs Pittsburgh.

A previous poster explained pre-injury Kevin Smith. Agreed. Dude was a master at preparation and getting under WR’s skin. He’d rub dirt onto Rice’s socks and pants because he knew Rice liked to keep his fit clean.

Good one.

 

[VaqueroTD]

That's actually a reasonable pick. Neck issues hurt him. A bit undersized.

But the heart and disposition of a caged lion. Really liked that guy

Agreed on Dat Nguyen. And was fun watching both him and Coakley. Had that ‘it’ for a LB. Uncanny ability to read and react to the play. Always seemed to know where the ball was going.

 

[mrmojo]

Ken Norton....he was the glue on those 92-93 defenses.

 

[Sydla]

Byron Jones.

Yeah, he fizzled out after leaving Dallas but when they finally settled on him being a CB, he was really good. He got on some fans' bad side early due to play but I blame the staff yo-yoing him between S and CB. I think if they had left him at CB right from the start, he'd have been great (granted, his hands were iffy, LOL).

 

[Flamma]

It's a toss-up between Everson Walls and Harvey Martin but I am going with Harvey. Oddly, his name is barely mentioned among some of the all-time greats. I read his profile about 12 years ago and had no idea how he was.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Martin

To be honest, I was unaware they were hardly mentioned or underrated. They were outstanding players. Martin got 23+ sacks in 1977. They broadcasted that statistic live during a week 12 game. And Everson Walls was sick!!! I was a WR. But when I played CB (because I sucked at Safety) I tried to mimic Walls style of coverage. I loved his approach. Even though he did get a few PI calls as a result. But I swear, I didn't.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

To be honest, I was unaware they were hardly mentioned or underrated. They were outstanding players. Martin got 23+ sacks in 1977. They broadcasted that statistic live during a week 12 game. And Everson Walls was sick!!! I was a WR. But when I played CB (because I sucked at Safety) I tried to mimic Walls style of coverage. I loved his approach. Even though he did get a few PI calls as a result. But I swear, I didn't.

LOL......what was crazy about Walls is he was never a speed guy but man he was a master technician. I remember Dolphin's former CB Howard explaining his technical skills in coverage and how he could make a 4.4 WR 4.5. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about and still don't to honest but he def said it (lol).

 

[dupree89]

Preston Pearson

 

[Flamma]

LOL......what was crazy about Walls is he was never a speed guy but man he was a master technician. I remember Dolphin's former CB Howard explaining his technical skills in coverage and how he could make a 4.4 WR 4.5. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about and still don't to honest but he def said it (lol).

He would ride the WR with his back to him and look back at the QB. So a QB isn't doing any back shoulder passes, and Walls would just pick off the pass if it was over the top. But his aggressive nature got him flagged from time to time.

 

[JoeKing]

He is one of my favorite Cowboys of all time, Harvey Martin.

 

[shabazz]

For some reason my thoughts go to Robert Jones and Ken Norton Jr that were the backbone of the LB Corp in the 90s SB run.

Not that they were HOF candidates, but they almost never get mentioned much......not even in this forum

 

[fivetwos]

Haven’t seen Pat Donovan mentioned but I probably missed it.

Agree with Tony Hill and Flozell.

 

[Diehardblues]

Op question who IS the most underrated.......not was. I take that as a former fans/media don't appreciate today. Shoot if we are talking during their playing days, Darren Woodson ( who OP chose ) was very much appreciated......ask John Madden (lol).
BTW....I did live through that era. Like you said Harvey was a well-respected player, especially playing on the same DLine with Randy White. If I remember correctly, he even had his own radio show. But today his name is hardly mentioned among former Cowboy legends.

Hardly mentioned among who?

 

[Established1971]

I dont think Everson Walls is underrated at all, in fact he may be a bit overrated.

 

[Established1971]

just spitballing but Tony Hill, Herbert Scott, Dave Manders, Billy Jo Dupree, DD Lewis, Randy Hughes, Doug Cosbie, Ron Springs

 

[mattc19]

Doug Cosbie was pretty good tight end in the eighties

 

[Mauricio]

Tony Romo