As we wrap up the five-part series with the Best Cowboys from U-Z, there really was only one battle to sort out. And that was in the W-players.
The U-players only had three all-time. The V-players choice was a slam dunk.
No one with a last name starting with the letter X has ever donned a Cowboys’ uniform.
Both Y and Z had pretty slim pickings at that.
So the heavy-lifting came from the W-players. Let’s get to it and find out who won Survivor W.
U Is For Ugly
There were only three players among the U-players on Dallas’ all-time roster. We’ll call them the Owls.
Because all you’ll do when you read the names is go: Who?
Here they are:
- Player Pos Seasons College
- Ulufale, Mike DL 1996 Brigham Young
- Underwood, Dimitrius DE 2000-2001 Michigan State
- Urban, Brent DE 2021 Virginia
See what I mean? We’re giving it to Dimitrius Underwood for no other reason than he lasted more than one year and the others didn’t.
The Best?: Dimitrius Underwood.
One Last V-ictory
His career was ended by a cheap shot delivered by a dirty player in San Francisco. Without it, Leighton Vander Esch (2018-23) is likely still playing at middle linebacker this year.
The Best: Leighton Vander Esch
Witten Outshines Them All
We whittled the list down to a final 10 among the W-players. All 10 could easily be the top dog here.
But Jason Witten’s heart, and his stats, ultimately win out.
He’s the Cowboys’ leading receiver in yards and catches. He is second in touchdowns, by just one, to Dez Bryant.
He’ll probably end up coaching the Cowboys in a few years too.
The Best: Jason Witten
As for the other nine, their accomplishments would take up nine additional posts, so we’ll just list them here.
- Walker, Herschel RB 1986-1989,96-1997 Georgia
- Walls, Everson DB 1981-1989 Grambling
- Ware, Demarcus LB 2005-2013 Troy State
- Waters, Charlie DB 1970-1978,80-1981 Clemson
- White, Danny QB 1976-1988 Arizona State
- White, Randy DT 1975-1988 Maryland
- Williams, Erik OT 1991-2000 Central State
- Williams, Roy DB 2002-2008 Oklahoma
- Wright, Rayfield OT 1967-1979 Fort Valley State
X Marks…nothing In Dallas
As mentioned above, no one with a last name starting with X has ever suited up for the Cowboys in a regular-season game.
Is there a way to bet on it ever happening in the future? Surely someone in Vegas will take this bet.
The Best: Nobody.
Young At Heart
This one is kind of bittersweet. Running back Charley Young (1974-76) probably would have emerged as RB1 in 1977 after playing behind Calvin Hill, Robert Newhouse, Preston Pearson, and Doug Dennison.
Then the Cowboys landed Tony Dorsett in the 1977 Draft. That ended Young’s day in Dallas.
Still, he will claim the best of the Y-players for now.
The Best: Charley Young.
Bounty Bowl Hero
There have only been five former Cowboys whose last name began with a Z. The other four are of little note.
For kicker Luis Zendejas, his time in Dallas may have been a brief three years (1987-89), but they were noteworthy.
In 1989, Zendejas was targeted by Buddy Ryan and the Eagles in the Bounty Bowl game.
Allegedly, the Eagles had a $200 bounty on Zendejas, for the crime of being a former Eagles’ player on the Dallas roster, it seems.
The game sealed forever one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL.
In three seasons, Zendejas only played in 11 games and made 9-of-16 field goals.
The Best: Luis Zendejas.
