The Dallas Cowboys have a long and storied history filled with Hall of Fame players, five Super Bowl wins and legendary coaches. However, while Dallas has capitalized on early draft picks when drafting players like Troy Aikman, Tony Dorsett and Ezekiel Elliot, the franchise has also found diamonds in the rough later in the draft.
These players have helped the team have as much success as they've had, and without them, the Cowboys wouldn't be the franchise they are today.
5. Dak Prescott
It was really tempting to go with former Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff — a four-time Pro Bowler and seventh-round pick who was excellent in eight seasons with the Cowboys — but it's also hard to ignore quarterback Dak Prescott, especially with recency bias.
A 2016 fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State, Prescott was forced into action as a rookie after an injury befell Tony Romo.
Prescott hasn't looked back since and in 2019, had his best season yet. Last year, Prescott threw for 4,902 yards, 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while rushing for 277 yards and three touchdowns. Dak doesn't have the career accolades that everyone else on this list has, but he'll definitely get there in time.
4. Jason Witten
One of the best tight ends in NFL history wasn't selected until the third round (69th overall) in the 2003 draft. Witten returned from a brief retirement last year to play his 15th season with the Cowboys.
While he's no longer the player he once was, you can't deny Witten's career impact.
No Cowboy has more than Witten's 11 career Pro Bowl selections. His 72 career (regular season) touchdowns also tops every other player in franchise history.
3. Roger Staubach
Likely due to his impending Naval Academy service, the 1963 Heisman Trophy winner wasn't selected until pick No. 129 in the 10th round of the 1964 draft. And although Staubach wouldn't make his NFL debut until 1969 at the age of 27, the six-time Pro Bowler separated himself as one of the best signal-callers of the 70s.
Like most quarterbacks of that era, Staubach's statistics don't hold up when you look at the quarterbacks of today. Nonetheless, for the time, Staubach was a top-tier quarterback and an underrated dual-threat.
2. Rayfield Wright
Playing at Fort Valley State, it makes sense why Wright didn't get the attention that prospects from big-name schools got. Well, that lack of attention certainly worked into the Cowboys' favor as they were able to draft a Hall of Fame tackle in the seventh round of the 1967 rookie selection.
At 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds, Wright was a hulking figure for the time, and he used that size to dominate in the trenches. In 13 seasons as a Cowboy, Wright made six Pro Bowls, was a three-time First-Team All-Pro selection and won two Super Bowls.
1. Larry Allen
Quite possibly the best offensive lineman in NFL history, Allen slipped to the second round (46th overall) in 1994. Not eligible to play Division-I football, Allen dominated at the JUCO and Division-II level.
In a draft where Shante Carver, Dallas' first-round selection played just four NFL seasons, Allen dominated for over a decade. In 11 seasons as a Cowboy, Allen was a First-Team All-Pro selection for an incredible six consecutive years and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013.
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