PFF names the top 3 players on the Dallas Cowboys roster

Who are the top three players on the Dallas Cowboys roster? This is an interesting question, isn’t it? We can look at it from the perspective of positional importance and in that scenario quarterback Dak Prescott would be number one. We can choose to answer it from the angle of who are the three “best” players on the team. Ultimately there are a number of ways to assess this situation.

We discussed this idea in greater length on the latest episode of The 75O on the Blogging The Boys podcast network. Make sure to subscribe to our network so you don’t miss any of our shows! Apple devices can subscribe here and Spotify users can subscribe here.

Football is a game with 22 starters and many more reserves so limiting the number of “best” players to just three is difficult no matter what team you are talking about. Still, though, it is a fun question to try and answer.

PFF named the top three players on the Dallas Cowboys roster

Recently the folks over at PFF named the top three players for every single NFL team. Chances are if you asked a group of Cowboys fans this question that you would get many different answers, but here is how PFF sees it:

G Zack Martin, 9th season,

LB Micah Parsons, 2nd season

LT Tyron Smith, 12th season

Martin and Smith — two of the best players at their respective positions — are the constants in a re-shuffling Cowboys offensive line. They rank first and fourth respectively in PFF’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metric at their position since Martin entered the league in 2014.

Parsons doesn’t have that same extended track record of elite play, but he showed in his rookie season that he’s already one of the most impactful defensive players in the NFL. He was PFF’s highest-graded off-ball linebacker in 2021 while also beating offensive tackles consistently when Dallas asked him to rush off the edge.

Also considered: QB Dak Prescott and Edge Demarcus Lawrence

We can certainly quibble about leaving the team’s franchise quarterback out of the top three, but the second half of last season was uneven from Dak Prescott which certainly impacts these sort of things. Ultimately it is difficult to disagree with a triumvirate of Zack Martin, Micah Parsons, and Tyron Smith.

All told these are definitely the three “best” players on the team in terms of how talented each player is relative to their own positions. Prescott is certainly a great argument which is why PFF notes that they considered him along with DeMarcus Lawrence who would be a worthy choice as well.

PFF has notoriously not been all too high on Trevon Diggs, but frankly it is difficult to make a case for him over the players listed here. CeeDee Lamb will hopefully challenge for a spot here a year from now with Amari Cooper no longer in a Cowboys uniform.

Do you agree here? Did PFF get it right?