Whom do you nominate as the most impactful Cowboy rookie in history?

[Paperbag]

That was Daks best year
All down hill since

Passing

SEASON	TEAM
2016	DAL
2017	DAL
2018	DAL
2019	DAL
2020	DAL
2021	DAL
2022	DAL
2023	DAL
2024	DAL
Career

GP	CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	LNG	SACK	RTG	QBR
16	311	459	67.8	3,667	8.0	23	4	83	25	104.9	77.6
16	308	490	62.9	3,324	6.8	22	13	81	32	86.6	70.0
16	356	526	67.7	3,885	7.4	22	8	90	56	96.9	55.2
16	388	596	65.1	4,902	8.2	30	11	62	23	99.7	71.9
5	151	222	68.0	1,856	8.4	9	4	58	10	99.6	73.1
16	410	596	68.8	4,449	7.5	37	10	51	30	104.2	60.5
12	261	394	66.2	2,860	7.3	23	15	68	20	91.1	59.9
17	410	590	69.5	4,516	7.7	36	9	92	39	105.9	73.4
8	185	286	64.7	1,978	6.9	11	8	65	21	86.0	45.3

LOL. Romo was Dak's personal QB coach. What a crock. Dak's talent had nothing to with it??

Look I thought his roomie we really struck gold
I was on the band wagon from the moment I say him throw something at the trash can and miss
He got right up and picked it up
I’m not saying he is not talented
To be an NFL QB you have to be
What I’m saying is he is not elite
He does not make people better , he needs top talent to make him better
Which is fine , there have been a number of QB that were game managers and got it down with top talent around them
It’s just hard to get top talent when you take a huge percentage of the money available
As he stated quote
I owe it to the other QBs in the league ( but not his Team Mates ) to get the biggest contract I can

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Tony Dorsett got them a Super Bowl his rookie year

Teams change by more than 1 player year to year. Even the incumbent players mature to their prime or age out of it. Tony alone wasn’t the difference

 

[Paperbag]

But that wasn’t the question

That is a fair
I can’t argue that
I will go Zeke 1600 years yards 15 TDS in only 15 games
You are correct Dak had a great year his Rookie season ( his best overall )

 

[KJJ]

Dorsett then Lilly

I would go with Duane Thomas ahead of Lilly because he was a big reason the Cowboys made it to the SB in 1970. He averaged 5.3 his rookie season.

 

[Bobhaze]

Best most impactful rookie season in Cowboys history: Bob Hayes in 1965. He was the first skill position star in Cowboys history.

He completely changed the NFL, how teams had to learn to cover the deep ball, and how one extremely athletic WR with blinding speed became the blueprint for the WRs that stands today.

Look at Hayes’ rookie season:

• Games: 13
• Total TDs: 13
• Total All purpose yards (receptions, rushing, punt returns, KO returns) 1,598
• Receptions: 46
• Receiving yards: 1003
• Yards per reception: 21.8
• Yards per punt return: 12.8
• Yards per KO return: 26.8
• All purpose yards per game: 123

If he played a 17 game schedule like today, he would have 2,091 all purpose yards and 17 TDs.

I can’t see a better rookie season in Cowboys history.

 

[Paperbag]

Best most impactful rookie season in Cowboys history: Bob Hayes in 1965. He was the first skill position star in Cowboys history.

He completely changed the NFL, how teams had to learn to cover the deep ball, and how one extremely athletic WR with blinding speed became the blueprint for the WRs that stands today.

Look at Hayes’ rookie season:

• Games: 13
• Total TDs: 13
• Total All purpose yards (receptions, rushing, punt returns, KO returns) 1,598
• Receptions: 46
• Receiving yards: 1003
• Yards per reception: 21.8
• Yards per punt return: 12.8
• Yards per KO return: 26.8
• All purpose yards per game: 123

If he played a 17 game schedule like today, he would have 2,091 all purpose yards and 17 TDs.

I can’t see a better rookie season in Cowboys history.

I had no idea
Started following DC in1974 ( at Eight years old ) with that info I agree

 

[morat1959]

Best most impactful rookie season in Cowboys history: Bob Hayes in 1965. He was the first skill position star in Cowboys history.

He completely changed the NFL, how teams had to learn to cover the deep ball, and how one extremely athletic WR with blinding speed became the blueprint for the WRs that stands today.

Look at Hayes’ rookie season:

• Games: 13
• Total TDs: 13
• Total All purpose yards (receptions, rushing, punt returns, KO returns) 1,598
• Receptions: 46
• Receiving yards: 1003
• Yards per reception: 21.8
• Yards per punt return: 12.8
• Yards per KO return: 26.8
• All purpose yards per game: 123

If he played a 17 game schedule like today, he would have 2,091 all purpose yards and 17 TDs.

I can’t see a better rookie season in Cowboys history.

Bullet Bob was a beast! I was young and we only got 2 channels so didn’t get to see him play a lot but loved reading the news paper articles. I remember him and Meredith hooking up on some deep ones. He did revolutionize the game. No list is complete without him. It’s fun to think back on the boys history. It’s sad to look to the future.

 

[morat1959]

Better question….top 5 in no particular order.

 

[JoeKing]

If we are just talking rookies, it has to be Tony Dorsett. He was Hall of Fame talent from the word go.

 

[bigE79]

You realize a healthy Romo has the same or better season than Dak?

Romo gets that 2016 team to the sb

 

[bigE79]

Romo or dorsett

 

[ChronicCowboy]

That wasn’t the question though

The question is impact. Dak’s impact was negligible because we had a better QB on the roster who would have achieved as many wins. Dak had zero impact on that season other than the few games early where Romo was hurt and unable to play.

 

[Established1971]

They struggled with the run game for 4 years after SB VI , suddenly Dorsett is drafted and they win the SB again, make it the next year and almost win. Hard to top that.

 

[MapleLeaf]

Zeke was definitely a beast but the overall team impact was still one and done.
I'm just wondering why no Dak votes?

He did get offensive rookie of the year and a 13-3, #1 seed record...

Why no Dak?

Because if there was no Zeke there was going to be the worst version of Dak.

The coaches protected Dak at the start of the season, and Zeke and the best o-line in all of football carried him the rest of the way.

 

[MapleLeaf]

They struggled with the run game for 4 years after SB VI , suddenly Dorsett is drafted and they win the SB again, make it the next year and almost win. Hard to top that.

Being a teenager and watching the Cowboys constantly come short when TD joined the team he was absolutely electric and you didn't know when he was going to break one.

He took a very good Cowboys team and pushed them over the edge into being a great team.

 

[BHendri5]

Jimmy Johnson and it's not even close

 

[JW82]

This rookie made a huge impact on how we view the front office. They will forever be linked. Taco!

 

[MapleLeaf]

Most impactful rookie? I have to go with Zeke. Dorsett did run over 1000 his rookie year and put an already great offense over the top. But let's face it, without Zeke, there's no way Dak would have had the success he had that season - that was a dumbed down passing offense with tons of run-option stuff. It's easy to overlook Zeke given how quickly he faded in his career. But 2016 he was on a rare MVP level for a rookie. Only Eric Dickerson, Randy Moss and Dan Marino come to mind as being even more impactful as rookies.

I go with Dorsett because he had a great o-line, but not the best. Zeke had the best o-line in 2016 IMO.

In 1977 the Cardinals had the best o-line and for two straight seasons did not allow Jim Hart to ever be sacked. In the same 1977 season the Dallas o-line allowed 33 sacks.

Tony made the biggest impact as a rookie and gave the offence and the o-line some juice.

 

[MapleLeaf]

Best most impactful rookie season in Cowboys history: Bob Hayes in 1965. He was the first skill position star in Cowboys history.

He completely changed the NFL, how teams had to learn to cover the deep ball, and how one extremely athletic WR with blinding speed became the blueprint for the WRs that stands today.

Look at Hayes’ rookie season:

• Games: 13
• Total TDs: 13
• Total All purpose yards (receptions, rushing, punt returns, KO returns) 1,598
• Receptions: 46
• Receiving yards: 1003
• Yards per reception: 21.8
• Yards per punt return: 12.8
• Yards per KO return: 26.8
• All purpose yards per game: 123

If he played a 17 game schedule like today, he would have 2,091 all purpose yards and 17 TDs.

I can’t see a better rookie season in Cowboys history.

He would have been my #2 behind TD.

 

[75boyz]

Because if there was no Zeke there was going to be the worst version of Dak.

The coaches protected Dak at the start of the season, and Zeke and the best o-line in all of football carried him the rest of the way.

Yep.
Totally agree.