Jason Witten is considered by many to be among the greatest Dallas Cowboy players of All-Time. That is no small achievement playing for a franchise loaded with Hall of Famer’s. He has certainly established himself as the best TE in the history of the franchise and that in itself is a great honour. The Cowboys franchise has a long tradition of excellence at the Tight End position and here is a ranking of the top 5 TE’s in Dallas Cowboys history.
Honourable Mention: Mike Ditka (1969-1972), Ditka is a HOFer and was a better Tight End than some of the players on this list; but, like several other former Pro-Bowl tight ends not on this list, he was not long tenured with the Cowboys and had his best years with another franchise.
#5 Pettis Norman (1962-1970)
Pettis Norman was the first in a long line of superb tight ends that have donned the blue star throughout the illustrious history of the Dallas Cowboys. Norman joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent but went on to have a successful and consistent career with the Cowboys. Unlike some of the Tight Ends left off of this list he never did make the Pro-Bowl, but he was an exceptional blocker that established himself as one of the longest tenured starters in franchise history.
#4 Doug Cosbie (1979-1988)
The Dallas Cowboys drafted Cosbie instead of Joe Montana because they had both Roger Staubach and Danny White on their roster. While passing on Joe Montana will forever be one of the worst decisions ever made in franchise history, Cosbie was far from a bust. Once he secured the starting job he quickly established himself as one of the best receiving Tight Ends in the league and earned three consecutive Pro-Bowl selections from 1983-1985.
#3 Billy Joe Dupree (1973-1983)
Billy Joe Dupree was drafted in the 1st round and immediately earned the starting job. He was a dual threat blocking and receiving Tight End and one of the best in the league during the era when the Dallas Cowboys established themselves as “America’s team”. Dupree made the Pro-Bowl 4 times with the Cowboys and when he retired held the franchise record for receiving TD’s for a Tight End.
#2 Jay Novacek (1990-1995)
The Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 90’s was a team loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. Offensively, credit is always given to the “triplets” or the “great wall of Dallas” but often the forgotten man on that great team was Jay Novacek. He only played 6 seasons in Dallas before he was forced to retire due to injury but during his short tenure he earned 5 Pro-Bowl selections and was twice named an All-Pro. Novacek was effective (although not revered) as a blocker but he may have been the best receiving Tight End in franchise history. His numbers would be considered impressive even in today’s era of inflated passing statistics. One thing that separates Novacek from other great Tight Ends is that he elevated his game during the post-season to another level. Among Dallas Cowboy players, only Michael Irvin and Drew Pearson have more playoff production as receivers than Jay Novacek.
#1 Jason Witten (2003-2017)
The 2018 season will be the first time in over a decade that #82 will not be the starting TE of the Dallas Cowboys. During his 15 year career with the Cowboys, Witten became the franchise’ All-time leading receiver and set records for most games played and most consecutive games played. Many adjectives can be used to describe Jason Witten but the two that describe him best are consistent and reliable. He was an excellent blocker and a clutch receiver. It is without a doubt that he is the greatest TE in the history of the Dallas Cowboys but he is also in the conversation of the greatest TE of All-Time.
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
All statistics and data obtained and verified from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
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Mead Griffin