The Dallas Cowboys have had some very good wide receivers during their years in the National Football League. I am sure you have your own favorites or at least ones you think is the best. Don’t worry if you don’t agree with my list of the best Dallas Cowboys Wide Receivers ever; it’s probably not the first time you were wrong! All stats in this article come from profootballreference.com.
1 “Bullet” Bob Hayes is the best receiver in Dallas Cowboys history, hell he changed the game of football. Known as the “World’s Fastest Man” the former Olympic Gold Medal winning sprinter was quite the football player as well. Until Hayes came along defenses pretty much covered wide receivers with a man to man look. “Bullet” Bob Hayes was so fast that they had to invent the zone defense to attempt to cover him. And in those days the bump and run was all the way down the field until the ball was in the air.
In 132 NFL games (4 with San Francisco at the end of his career) “Bullet” Bob Hayes caught 371 passes for 7,414 yards and 75 touchdowns. He had a remarkable 20 yards per catch average for his career. He also added 1,157 yards and 3 touchdowns on punt returns.
2 Michael Irvin in my opinion barely made it to number 2 rather than 3 but he did and here is why. First he got away with murder in pushing off on defenders and 2nd he was on better teams than any of the others on the list. That being said Irvin was a worker and a game breaker, he was not a natural athlete but he worked so hard he produced like one.
In 159 games Michael Irvin caught 750 passes for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns. He has a respectable 15.9 yards per catch average as well. He would have more stats but he retired slightly early due to injury.
3 Drew Pearson certainly belongs on any list of the Best Dallas Cowboy Wide Receivers ever. He made the most famous catch in Dallas History with his “Hail Mary” grab from Roger Staubach. He was also a undrafted free agent who played quarterback in college and adapted very well to a new position in the NFL. As a kid who loved the Cowboys Drew Pearson was the big time receiver they had then. Though I remember more the Danny White to Pearson combo, than Roger Staubach.
In 156 NFL games Drew caught 489 passes for 7,822 yards and 67 touchdowns. He had a solid 16 yard per catch average and added 192 yards and 3 scores passing.
4 Tony Hill spent most of his career as an addition to Drew Pearson which gave those Cowboys teams their best receiving corps in their history (along with Butch Johnson). But Hill didn’t just sit in Pearson’s shadow; he was an excellent player in his own right. He wasn’t quite the possession receiver as Pearson but he was faster.
In 141 games Tony “Thrill” Hill caught 479 passes for 7,988 yards a 16.7 average and 51 touchdowns. Included in those stats was a 75 yard reception.
5 Terrell Owens almost didn’t make the top 5, but I conferred with longtime Dallas Cowboys fan and current Associated Content writer Clyde Hughes. He agreed that Owens was as good a choice as any. My only hesitation in listing him is that at this time he has only played 2 seasons in Dallas. But there is no doubting his talent and the stats will come if he stays in Dallas the rest of his career. In those two seasons he has 166 receptions in 31 games for 2,535 yards and an astonishing 28 touchdowns!
For his career with the Cowboys, Eagles and 49ers Terrell Owens has huge stats. 173 games,882 receptions 13,070 yards and 129 touchdowns with a 14.8 average. Considering he was often feuding with quarterbacks, coaches and fans during this time, he put up great numbers.
Also considered was Mike Renfro one of my favorite players of all time on any team. Butch Johnson was a nice compliment to Hill and Pearson as mentioned earlier. I will catch some hell for not putting Lance Alworth on the list, from the old time Cowboys fans.
