7 Greatest Dallas Cowboys players of the 21st century
By Adam Patrick
7. Marion Barber – RB
Marion Barber may not have some of the yardage totals that some of the Cowboys running backs have had during the 21st century. But when it came to getting the job done, there was no one who has done it better for Dallas since the 2000 season.
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Selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, Barber quickly developed into the team’s goal line weapon. In six years with Dallas, he rushed for a total of 47 touchdowns and 41 of these scores came on carries 10 yards away from the end zone or less.
During his prime, Barber was arguably one of the hardest players for opposing defenders to try and bring down. Breaking a few tackles per carry was just a normal afternoon for the former Cowboys running back.
As good as Barber was in short-yardage situations, he was also a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. In two of his six seasons with Dallas, he ended the year with at least 42 catches and 280 receiving yards.
His best year with the Cowboys came in 2007 when he rushed for 975 yards and 10 touchdowns while also hauling in 44 passes for 282 yards and two more scores. Barber’s performance that season earned him his first and only invite to the Pro Bowl.
The bruising running back finished with a total of 53 touchdowns in his career with the Cowboys, an amount that still stands as the most of any Dallas rusher during the 21st century.