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

Motorola

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Eugene Lockhart was a good linebacker on some bad teams
"Mean Gene, the hitting machine" - he was a VERY GOOD linebacker on some bad teams.
Lockhart was the best player on those mid-to-late 1980s diminishing Cowboys teams under those last seasons coached by Landry.
He really should be under consideration for ROH status IMO.
 

xwalker

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He was never the same after that brutal car wreck
Yes, not close to his pre-wreck self; however, after the wreck he made All-Pro 2 times and the Pro Bowl 3 times.
- 60% of the 92/93 version of Erik Williams was still better than most players...
 

xwalker

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Lee Roy Jordan who belongs in the Hall of Fame. And Erik Williams who is not mentioned enough outside of Dallas Cowboys fans.
Erik Williams:
In this 1st year as a full time starter (2nd season), he received offensive player of the week honors for shutting down this guy:

NFL records
  • Most consecutive seasons as sacks leader: 2 (tied)[a]
  • Most consecutive seasons with 10+ sacks: 9
  • Most seasons with 15+ sacks: 5
Total tackles:1,111
Sacks:198
Forced fumbles:33
Fumble recoveries:20
Interceptions:39
Defensive touchdowns:2
.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
 

SHAMSzy

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Tony Romo
Darren Woodson
Marion Barber
Anthony Spencer
Dak Prescott
 

exciter

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He played through injuries his last year in Dallas and gave up several big plays.

Dallas let him go.

Then he went on to have a whole other career after Dallas.

He was also like 25 or 26 when he came into the NFL and had a long career.
Meniscus!
Think it was more than just the injury. He was a zone corner and they were wanting to move to a predominantly man scheme I think!
 

Motorola

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I honestly think a lot of NFL talking heads and even some Cowboys’ fans underrate how great Emmitt Smith was as a RB.
I feel it's not that he is underrated by NFL pundits / sports media; to me the matter in question that always comes up among fans is who was the better running back.
The ongoing, most mentioned (at times contentious) debate over the last few decades regarding that topic is Emmitt versus Barry.

Just like when I was growing up in the 1960's, seems like the one comparison that came up most of the time was Mantle vs. Mays.
(RIP "Say Hey Kid".)
 

kskboys

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"Mean Gene, the hitting machine" - he was a VERY GOOD linebacker on some bad teams.
Lockhart was the best player on those mid-to-late 1980s diminishing Cowboys teams under those last seasons coached by Landry.
He really should be under consideration for ROH status IMO.
I think Eugene was a borderline HOFer.
 

Cowboys5217

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Everyone except the offensive linemen of the best dynasty ever - the 1992-1995 Cowboys. Aikman, Smith, Irvin - none of them get the respect they deserve and earned, even from some Cowboys fans.

They were the strongest team ever. They would beat any other team from any other era two out of three times, and likely blow them out in at least one of them.

They dominated the strongest era of the NFL. In their own division they had to overcome the two most recent SB champions.

Outside their division they had to deal with the team of the 1980s 49ers who were themselves only a few season removed from back to back SBs and were still a top 3 roster.

They also had to deal with the only team to win four consecutive conference titles in the SB twice in the Bills.

Emmitt racked up career records that not only still stand, but are safe for the rest of our lives. There is nobody active that is going to match his career rushing yards or rushing TDs records.

Aikman was one of the greatest playoff QBs ever. Top 5 as far as results go.

And yet all we ever hear about them is how they weren't that great. They never get their proper rankings as a team or as players. Everything gets attributed to the offensive line which didn't play defense nor had any HoF other than Larry Allen who came to the team after they had already won back to back SBs.
 

KJJ

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Troy Aikman
Hard to call a Hall of Fame player underrated. However, he doesn’t receive the love some QBs have because he didn’t put up big numbers and the Cowboys offenses under him revolved around Emmitt Smith, and their running game. He certainly wasn’t the most underrated Cowboys player. It’s hard to come up with one player who clearly was, but it wasn’t Aikman.
 

khiladi

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Kevin Smith pre-injury was elite. After injury, the refs targeted him for a lot of BS calls, especially with Sanders on the other side.
 
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