For a team with a “top-heavy” roster, you can debate who the Dallas Cowboys cornerstones are all day. It’s a group filled with former All-Pros, high-potential young guys, and players teetering on a career crossroads.
It is also a costly 53-man roster; soon, Dallas will have three players worth over $35M per season.
They have a new head coach running the show in this critical bounce-back season, and key players returning from injuries that plagued their 2024 campaigns. Yet, as anti-climactic as it sounds, the year is likely to be dictated by their top-five players.
If the Cowboys’ best are not healthy and productive, their chances of competing for a Super Bowl plummet. They just don’t have the depth to push through that.
So, who are those top dogs? Let’s rank them and find out. Here are Dallas’ top-five players in 2025.
5. DeMarvion Overshown: Health Holding Superstar Back
Is this a hot take? Yes. Ranking an unproven commodity with two ACL tears over guys like DaRon Bland, Trevon Diggs, or George Pickens is far from the norm, but that is how good I believe DeMarvion Overshown is.
Dallas’s best linebacker, the former Texas Longhorn was a shooting star in 2024, totaling 90 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and five sacks in just 13 games.
That devastating injury ended his year, but this kid is flat out determined to make it back.
Work ethic won’t solve all of his problems, as re-tearing an ACL with an even more severe injury could limit his previous talent.
However, if he does make the return he’s been hyping up and hits the field at 100%, I think we’re talking about an All-Pro linebacker and one of the Cowboys cornerstones for years to come. “Agent 0” is the real deal.
4. Dak Prescott: Critical Season For Former MVP-Runner-Up
It is all about health for Dak Prescott. If he’s on the field, he is as important of a player as one can be for Dallas, but the injuries have started to pile up.
After a career-year in 2023, the veteran quarterback struggled early in the year and then tore his hamstring off the bone, ending his and the Cowboys season prematurely. It was a sight Dallas’s fans remember all too well.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (hamstring) to undergo season-ending surgery Wednesday. (via @tompelissero) pic.twitter.com/KWr1V1zJhs
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2024
Due to that injury history and his increasing age, he slides to fourth in the pure talent ranking here. That does not speak to just how critical he is for this team.
In terms of general importance, he is number one.
Can he return to being the 35+ touchdown guy we’ve seen in the past, or are the injuries going to derail his 30s, much like they did with Tony Romo?
3. Tyler Smith: The Anchor Of The Offensive Line
When the front office selected Tyler Smith in the first round a few years ago, we could never have expected to see him so high on a list like this in 2025.
Coming out of Tulsa, the rap on Smith was “raw.” He was not NFL-ready, and to some, he was even a reach in the draft. Now, he’s an All-Pro caliber guard who is taking the torch from Zack Martin.
Smith is, without question, the anchor of the offensive line at this point.
He is surrounded by a rookie, two second-year players, and the up-and-down Terence Steele. The line has potential, but Smith is the centerpiece.
There is no doubt about it: this kid has become one of the top-three most talented Dallas Cowboys.
2. CeeDee Lamb: Sights Set High With New Sidekick
If Dallas hadn’t made a blockbuster trade for George Pickens, the offense would have been in serious danger. It is also what moves superstar wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb, down to two on my ranking.
The former Oklahoma Sooner is one of the best in the league at his position, and now he’s joined by an actual WR2, which should take some volume away.
It doesn’t mean he won’t hit the 150 target mark, but we should see a big impact from Pickens.
Larger than the one that guys like Jalen Tolbert and Brandin Cooks have had in years past, to say the least.
In 2025, everybody knows Lamb is one of two offensive Cowboys cornerstones, and he remains a consistent OPOY candidate as long as his cleats are on grass. He is a dominant force on offense who is just getting started.
1. Micah Parsons: DPOY Year Will Arrive Eventually
At some point, Dallas will be able to call Micah Parsons the highest paid defensive player in the league. He will also likely be a DPOY at some point under that new contract.
There is simply few, if any, NFL players as good as Parsons when it comes to rushing the passer, and that is what lands him in the number one spot.
Pelissero: EDGE Micah Parsons could seek shorter extension than Cowboys traditionally prefer so he can return to market at age 29 or 30.
Cowboys might need to "shave a year or even two off" of offer to complete deal.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) June 27, 2025
His pure talent is the generational, future Hall-of-Fame type.
Without Parsons, there is no pass rush for Dallas, and the threat of him alone also makes waves on the defensive end. When he is double, or triple-teamed, it creates opportunities for somebody else.
Just like with Lamb, if he’s on the field, he will dominate. Parsons is the glue of the defense and will remain in that role for a very long time.
