Dallas City News

Last year was a disappointing season for rookie contributions, but hopefully, it was more of an outlier. Typically, the Dallas Cowboys get strong production from their first-year players and many are excited about this year’s rookie class. Which one of these new draft picks/priority free agents will emerge as this year’s standout rookie? Before we take a guess at the new guys, let’s look at the last 10 years and determine which players had the strongest performance in their rookie season.

2014 – Zack Martin

Not only was Zack Martin the best rookie for the Cowboys that season, but he’s been the best player for many subsequent seasons. Martin was once a guy that Jerry Jones “settled for” after fighting off the urge to draft Johnny Manziel, but now he’s an eventual Ring of Honor member and gold-jacket wearer. Before the Cowboys made rookie All-Pros a regular thing, Martin’s quick rise to All-Pro-ness was the first time the team had a rookie achieve that feat in 45 years (Calvin Hill, 1969). The team also got a strong contribution from rookie linebacker Anthony Hitchens after Sean Lee was injured in OTA’s (by Martin). It was also DeMarcus Lawrence’s rookie season, but he only played seven games due to injury.

2015 – Byron Jones

Byron Jones was the team’s top-performing rookie in 2015. He spent five years with the Cowboys before leaving for a big payday in free agency. In his last two years, he was a lockdown corner, including an All-Pro season in 2018, but before that, he was holding things down at free safety. Like Jones, La’el Collins made 11 starts his rookie season. He was a first-round talent that landed in the Cowboys’ lap when a pre-draft police investigation caused him to go undrafted. David Irving was a rookie UDFA signed off the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad that season. His impact was sporadic during his short career, but the 22-year-old rookie played 12 games with Dallas that season.

2016 – Dak Prescott & Ezekiel Elliott

Never have there been two rookies to make such an impact for the Cowboys. Dak Prescott started all 16 games at quarterback after jumping ahead of Tony Romo (injured), Kellen Moore (injured), and Jameil Showers on the depth chart. He was a smart rookie and only threw four interceptions en route to a Pro Bowl season and Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Ezekiel Elliott was just as important. He started 15 games (the coaches cut his tape in the finale to preserve one of their most precious assets) and finished six yards shy of 2,000 scrimmage yards. He finished second in OROY voting (43% compared to Dak’s 57%).

2017 – Jourdan Lewis

The 2017 season was a quiet year for Cowboys’ rookies. We all know how things went for the team’s first-round selection, Taco Charlton, but there weren’t many other players splashing around either. The team’s three defensive backs were the only things they could hang their hat on with third-round pick Jourdan Lewis starting the most games (seven) of any rookie. Second-round pick Chidobe Awuzie was right behind him (six), with sixth-round safety Xavier Woods (four) bringing up the rear.

2018 – Leighton Vander Esch

The Cowboys looked like draft geniuses when the 19th overall pick racked up 140 tackles and two interceptions as he put together an All-Pro season. Little did we know that would be the peak season for Vander Esch as he would be plagued with injuries that would ultimately shorten his career. Second-round pick Connor Williams also made a strong contribution, starting 10 games at left guard. And wide receiver Michael Gallup looked like a third-round steal after a strong rookie season.

2019 – Tony Pollard

The 2019 season was another quiet year for Cowboys’ rookies. With no first-round pick due to the Amari Cooper trade the previous year, the team’s top draft resource was spent on Trysten Hill who made little to no impact. Their best performer was fourth-round pick Tony Pollard who complemented Elliott well in the team’s rushing attack. They also got a solid contribution from sixth-round rookie Donovan Wilson who played in 11 games that year.

2020 – CeeDee Lamb

In terms of rookie production, 2020 was the year that kept on giving. Starting with draft steal CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys were gifted their future star wide receiver. Lamb put up 935 receiving yards in his rookie season. They also got a surprise contribution from undrafted free agent Terence Steele who started 14 games at tackle for them after losing Collins for the year. Speaking of offensive line help, fourth-round pick Tyler Biadasz played 12 games, starting four of them and future All-Pro corner Trevon Diggs made 11 starts at cornerback.

2021 – Micah Parsons

Another draft with a future star falling to the Cowboys, 2021 saw the beginning of Micah Parsons wreaking havoc on defense. This off-ball-linebacker-turned-edge-rusher put together a Defensive Rookie of the Year season as he finished with 84 tackles and 13 sacks. Parsons also finished second in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year behind the Pittsburgh Steelers T.J. Watt. There wasn’t much noise from the other rookies that year besides third-round pick Osa Odighizuwa who made 12 starts for the Cowboys at defensive tackle.

2022 – Tyler Smith

Despite being met with controversy, the offensive tackle for Tulsa turned out to be quite the catch for the Cowboys when he was selected 24th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he held down the left tackle spot all season after veteran Tyron Smith was hurt in training camp. He followed up a strong rookie year with an even better performance last year, earning All-Pro honors, only this time, starting at left guard. The Cowboys also found a gem in fifth-round rookie DaRon Bland, who also earned All-Pro honors in just his second year in the league.

2023 – Brandon Aubrey

There wasn’t much to love from the team’s rookie class last year as it was riddled with disappointment. First-round pick Mazi Smith (three games) and undrafted free agent T.J. Bass (two games) were the only rookies to start for the Cowboys last season. However, the team did get a surprise from a 28-year-old rookie, Brandon Aubrey, a former soccer pro. Aubrey stepped in and was absolutely sensational, making his first 36 field goal attempts of his NFL career. His only FG misses came in the regular season finale when he had a kick blocked and another doink off the goal post. We know it’s just a kicker, but the Cowboys may have found a long-term answer to their kicker position.

2024 – ???

The Cowboys have a promising group of rookies this season, and it’s anyone’s guess who could be this year’s top performer. All eyes will be on Tyler Guyton as he inherits the very important task of protecting Prescott’s blind spot. Or maybe it’s the third-round offensive lineman Cooper Beebe who takes the starting center job and never looks back? There are also some intriguing defensive players who may start out in small roles, but take on larger responsibilities as the season progresses. Which rookie do you think will make the biggest impact this season?