The 10 best safeties in the history of the Dallas Cowboys
Many of the finest players in NFL history have made their names with the recognizable star on the side of the helmet thanks to the Dallas Cowboys’ dedication to developing exceptional teams. Although safety is not as well-known as other defensive positions, Dallas consistently produces its best players at the position. Few teams in NFL history can claim to have multiple players at the safety position in the Hall of Fame. Dallas can not only check that box, but it is very likely that more Cowboys should be honored with Canton Inductions.
As the top safety in Cowboys history, these ten players have already distinguished themselves. The Cowboys’ new defensive back class has a steep mountain ahead of them. Selection criteria These security measures were selected using a mix of The Effect of Statistical Achievements on Success and Longevity Remarkable Events.
The top 10 safeties in Dallas Cowboys history
10. Ken Hamlin
Although Hamlin was only a Dallas player for three seasons, he is among the select few who qualified for the Pro Bowl as a result of a successful 2007 season. Thirteen Cowboys made it to the game, including Hamlin, who showed well as a free agent after leaving Seattle to sign with Dallas. The legacy of Hamlin in Dallas is nuanced. Even though he was one of the top tackling safeties of the 2000s, once he signed his six-year deal, it became evident that it was among the worst in the league. The former Arkansas alum is on the list because of his peak, even though his low points were significant.
9. George Teague
Teague’s tenure in Dallas is most known for an incident that did not even take place during a live play: when Terrell Owens, a 49ers receiver at the time, began to mock the Cowboys on their midfield star, Teague famously laid Owens out. That clouded a five-season, more-than-respectable tenure in Dallas. Teague was on some awful Dave Campo teams, but he never made it to the Pro Bowl. But during his tenure with the Cowboys, he did have 278 tackles, six forced fumbles, and seven interceptions. If Teague had been surrounded by a real, coherent defensive framework during his tenure in Dallas, things would have gone better.
8. Mike Gaetcher
Tom Landry’s first few Cowboys teams were wretched, and very few players from that area managed to stick around when they got good. Gaetcher is one of the few holdovers, as his hard-hitting style of play is everything a former defensive back like Landry wanted to see from his safeties.
Gaetcher started 84 games and recorded 21 interceptions for Dallas, making his mark as one of the more feasrome tacklers of his era. While his prime was solid, an Achilles injury in 1969 ended his career right before Dallas was supposed to take off. Based on his prime, Gaetcher deserves a spot on this list.
7. Michael Downs
The one-time All-Pro should have made it to the Pro Bowl, but Downs never did. Throughout the 1980s, Downs was a constant on Landry’s teams, amassing 116 starts along with 34 interceptions. Together with Dennis Thurman and Everson Walls, one of the greatest cornerback tandems in league history, Downs assembled a superior secondary. In terms of players who played only safety, Downs had the second-most picks in Cowboys history with 34. In the Dallas defensive backfield, Downs continued to be incredibly productive and reliable even as the Landry regime began to fall apart around him.
6. Cornell Green
Green has a legitimate Hall of Fame case, as he made five Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams in his 13-year career. Green never missed a game during that time, playing eight seasons as a cornerback and moving to safety for the last five years after Gaetcher retired.
Grading him just as safety, Green deserves to be high on this list. Green was a Pro Bowler twice at age 31 and 32, respectively. Green was the picture of consistency and excellence in the defensive backfield.
Green, the younger brother of Red Sox infielder Pumpsie Green, was a basketball player drafted by the NBA’s Chicago Zephyrs in 1962. He never played a down in college football, but the 6-3 safety was a premium athlete who became one of the great Cowboys ever.
5. Charlie Waters
Another ironman who played every game except for his 1979 injury mulligan, Waters was a Pro Bowler every year between 1976 and 1978. One of the greatest winners in NFL History, Waters never suffered through a losing season in his time with the Cowboys.
Waters and Cliff Harris formed one of the greatest safety tandems in NFL history, and there’s a case to be made for them being at the top of the list. With two rings to his name, Waters was a key cog in the “Doomsday” defense that reversed Dallas’ run of bad luck in the playoffs.
4. Roy Williams
Nope, this isn’t the former Lions receiver who couldn’t catch a cold in Alaska barefoot when he was in Dallas. This is a Pro Bowl safety who remains one of the greatest injury “what-ifs” in Cowboys history. Williams made five consecutive Pro Bowls between the 2003 and 2007 seasons, narrowly missing out on Defensive Player of the Year in ’03.
Williams tallied 17 interceptions and 6.5 sacks in his first six years with the Cowboys, all while making a name for himself as a hard-hitting veteran who took no prisoners for a hard-nosed coach like Bill Parcells.
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