The Dallas Cowboys are loaded with talent. Thank you Vice President of Player Personnel, Will McClay. Everywhere you look, there are great players slotted into the team’s starting lineup. With outstanding drafting, well-budgeted free agent signings, and one blockbuster trade, the Cowboys are sitting in great shape. What is even better is that the Cowboys have had this talent in all the right places as they had Pro Bowlers or All-Pro’s in each of the “Money Five” positions (a term coined by fellow BTB Alum K.D. Drummond): quarterback, left tackle, defensive end, wide receiver, and cornerback when Byron Jones was around.

Now, Jones is gone, but the team continues to load up on talent at these all important positions. In fact, they now have some rather impressive dynamic duo’s at some key starting spots, but which of these tandems is the most talented pairing?

Amari Cooper & CeeDee Lamb

First off, we realize that this is disrespectful to Michael Gallup. I mean, the guy just put up over 1,100 yards receiving last season in just his second year in the league. If you feel better about inserting his name here over one of the other guys, have at it. Lamb is listed here because it’s very possible that he’s the best of the best in this position group. Sure, he’s a rookie, but he was a superstar in college, and the Cowboys may have just ended up with one of the best players in the entire draft despite selecting him 17th overall.

Cooper has had 1,000+ yard season in four of his five years in the league with the one anomaly being his last full season with the Oakland Raiders where he only started 12 games. He was injured and out of rhythm, but he’s been nothing short of fantastic since joining the Cowboys as he had a career-high in receiving yards and touchdowns last season.

In Lamb’s three years at Oklahoma, he averaged nearly 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns per season. Sure, that’s just college, but there are great reasons to be excited about his upside.

Tyron Smith & La’el Collins

The Cowboys are very fortunate to have two-blue chip tackles on the edge of their offensive line, although technically Collins isn’t a top 10 pick. Because of an unfortunate police interview right at draft time, Collins went undrafted in 2015. The Cowboys benefited greatly by signing him, extending him, and then extending him again as the 27 year old has recently emerged as one of the stronger tackles in the league.

Speaking of strong tackles, how great was it that the Cowboys got their hands on Tyron Smith for the entirety of his NFL career. Of course, don’t let him get his big hands on edge rushers, because if he does, that’s all she wrote for them. Smith has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last seven years, whereas Collins is on the cusp of his first appearance. While they may be slowly trending in different directions, they both are currently talented pieces to this offensive line.

DeMarcus Lawrence & Everson Griffen

In 2017, Lawrence (14.5) and Griffen (13.0) finished in the top four in the league in sacks, so it’s extremely satisfying to see these two line up on the same defensive line. For years, the team has sunk all types of resources on edge rushers with many of them failing to live up to their potential. They finally hit on Lawrence after injuries slowed him early on, but he’s just one guy. The Cowboys have used other avenues to bring in quality veterans to play on the opposite side. Last year, it was Robert Quinn who they got from the Miami Dolphins via trade, and this year it’s the free agent signing of Griffen.

This ultimately could end up being the best edge rushing pair this team has had in a long while, which would mean bad news for opposing quarterbacks.

Jaylon Smith & Leighton Vander Esch

The Cowboys have three linebackers on the roster who have compiled a 140+ tackle season at some point over the past four years - Sean Lee (2016), Leighton Vander Esch (2018), and Jaylon Smith (2019). You’d have to go all the way back to 1993 to find another Cowboys player who racked up that many tackles in a season (Ken Norton Jr.).

While Lee is on the decline, the Van Jaylon combo is up and coming as these two should be roaming the middle of the defense for at least the next three season. Both have already earned Pro Bowl honors and should be an integral part of the defense going forward.