The NFL offseason can often be a boring time for fans who don’t closely follow other sports. You can count me in that group.
I really only follow the NFL closely. I’m a bird brain when it comes to sports, so I do keep up casually with the MLB and NBA, but I really shy away from the NHL.
I’m what you can call a casual fan of the other major sports besides the NFL. My favorite teams in the MLB are the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros, with the Astros coming first.
In the NBA, I favor the San Antonio Spurs, but I will root for the other two Texas teams as well: the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
The same can be said for the NFL. I’m a Cowboys fan through and through, and I bleed navy and silver. However, I still root for the Houston Texans when they aren’t facing the Cowboys.
In my offseason boredom, I came across this post on social media about building the perfect NFL offensive lineup using all-time greats.
Check out the graphic below. You’re sure to know each and every face and name on there.
The goal is to build the best offense using only a $15 budget. I was able to come up with a solid team, and with a Dallas twist, I made sure to include both Cowboys in my lineup.
Once you check out mine, feel free to comment on what your perfect lineup would be. I’d love to see all the different combinations you come up with.
QB Drew Brees ($1)
Going with Drew Brees for $1 here was a no-brainer for me. The Texas high school product has the third-highest completion percentage in NFL history.
Ahead of his 67.7% career accuracy are current quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa, at 68.6% and 68.1%, respectively.
However, Brees played nearly five times more games than Burrow and Tua currently have, so the law of averages could place Brees atop the list once again in the future.
A quarterback that accurate can put the ball wherever he wants, and it makes no difference in my lineup if he won seven Super Bowls like Tom Brady, or just the one like he actually did.
So, I’m happy with Brees throwing to the juggernauts I have at wide receiver to be revealed below.
RB Emmitt Smith ($4)
You probably think Emmitt Smith is in this lineup solely for the purposes of this article, but you’d be wrong to assume that.
I have Emmitt in here because I actually do believe he is the greatest running back to ever play the game. People like to question his All-Time NFL-leading 18,355 rushing yards because of the quality of offensive line he had.
People like to say that if Barry Sanders had Emmitt’s offensive line, he’d be at the top of the list. That may be so, but my reason for choosing Emmitt is exactly because he isn’t Barry Sanders.
Smith was never the biggest or the fastest or the strongest, but he always prevailed, and eventually retired as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.
WR Randy Moss ($5)
My number one wide receiver is a player that I wish with all my might that the Cowboys had drafted in 1998. Randy Moss ended up in the Hall of Fame as one of the best wide receivers of all time.
The Cowboys decided not to draft Moss with the 8th overall pick in that draft because of character concerns. Instead, they chose DE Greg Ellis.
Minnesota chose Moss later in the first round, and the rest is history. Adding Moss to my made up perfect lineup doesn’t make me feel any better, but at least we are having fun.
WR Terrell Owens ($4)
A sneaky pick on this list of former Cowboys is Terrell Owens. The graphic shows him in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform, and only true Cowboys fans can make the connection.
Owens was one of the most-hated players by Cowboys fans even before he was in an Eagles uniform because of his time with the San Francisco 49ers.
Once he arrived in Dallas, though, the public perception changed. The Tony Romo to Terrell Owens connection was prolific, and T.O. caught 38 touchdowns in 47 games.
It was easy for me to choose Owens here. He is a possession receiver who loves contact and running underneath routes. That’s a perfect complement to the long speed and deep threat of Randy Moss.
TE Jason Witten ($1)
Even if I had more money to spend with my final pick, I would still choose Jason Witten to be my tight end.
Witten not only set franchise records, but he also set and held many tight end receiving records in his 17 years in the league.
He was the consummate professional and was a warrior on the field. We all remember him running down the field in Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia with a bloody nose and without a helmet.
Snatching him for my lineup for just $1 was a steal, and he is the perfect player to round out my perfect lineup.
What’s yours?