1. DeMarcus Ware, EDGE
In 2005, former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells was looking to rebuild his defense. Coming off a 6-10 campaign the year before, he wanted to get himself a big defensive end for his three-man line and a pass-rushing outside linebacker. And thanks to trades made prior to the draft, he had two selections in the first round to work with.
At No. 11 overall, he originally wanted to take LSU’s Marcus Spears but went a different route as he took DeMarcus Ware out of Troy. Parcells lucked out and still landed Spears with his second pick, No. 20 overall, and no one ever doubted if he made a mistake in taking the small-school product first.
Ware, who played defensive end for the Trojans, had to learn the linebacker spot in Parcells’ 3-4 defense and seemed to do so effortlessly. As a rookie, he registered 58 tackles and eight sacks, showing off his pass-rushing skills. He followed that up with 11.5 sacks as a sophomore and was named to the first of seven-straight Pro Bowls for Dallas.
He was released ahead of the 2014 season in a salary cap move but the relationship was never strained. Ware still shows love for the Cowboys and the fan base never got over seeing him leave. A sure-fire Hall of Famer, Ware had 138.5 career sacks and 117 of those came in his nine seasons with Dallas which is the most in team history.
After finishing his third season with the Denver Broncos, there were rumors Dallas would have wanted him back in 2017 but that never came to fruition as he wound up retiring.
At 37 years of age, Ware could still play the game even if it were only on a limited-snap basis. And with the way this team is currently constructed, it would be hard to think of anyone else who would be as welcomed and impactful.