The Dallas Cowboys have produced a ton of talented wide receivers in their 64-year history, and if you were to make a list of the most famous receivers in NFL history, there’s a good chance most of them have had a star on their helmet at some point in their career.
Comparing wide receivers from different eras is always difficult, but it is possible if you take into account several different factors.
When it comes to ranking the best wide receivers in franchise history, statistics are paramount, but the criteria go deeper than that. Team success is important, but it would be unfair to let wins and losses have such a big influence on the rankings.
While the wide receiver position is crucial to a team’s success in today’s NFL, this list includes players from a variety of eras, including a time when the passing game was still in its infancy. Additionally, quarterback play was very different 50 years ago than it is today. The game itself was very different.
This is not a pure talent ranking, but a combination of numbers, talent, team success and individual accolades.
Renfro spent the final four years of his career in Dallas after six seasons with the Houston Oilers. The Fort Worth, Texas, native quietly flourished with the Cowboys. He totaled over 2,500 receiving yards, including an impressive 1985 season in which he caught 60 passes for 955 yards and eight touchdowns.
When Galloway joined the Cowboys, the team was at a crossroads: Troy Aikman was nearing the end of his career and Michael Irvin was considering retirement.
In need of a WR1, Galloway was acquired by the Seahawks for two first-round draft picks. He tore his ACL during his first season in 2000, but recovered well enough to play in 47 of 48 games over the next three years. During that time, Galloway caught 147 passes for 2,279 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Cowboys acquired Johnson in a trade with the Buccaneers in 2004 for the aforementioned Joey Galloway. The former No. 1 overall pick joined Dallas near the end of his career, but his stats would not suggest it. In two seasons, Johnson caught 141 passes for 1,820 yards and 12 touchdowns, leading the team in receiving yards both years. Though he didn’t stay long in Dallas, he was an impressive player both as a playmaker and a leader in the locker room.
Cowboys fans had high hopes for Williams. He was Tony Romo’s go-to WR2 behind Dez Bryant, but never fully lived up to his potential. Williams burst into the spotlight as a rookie with 736 receiving yards and five touchdowns. In his first five seasons, Williams averaged an impressive 671.8 yards receiving. Believe it or not, he ranks 13th in catches and 12th in receiving yards among WRs in Cowboys history.
Martin never topped 800 receiving yards in his four seasons with the Cowboys, but he was still a solid player. From 1988 to 1991, he averaged 53 catches for 666 yards. He was a reserve in 1991 and 1992 as Michael Irvin emerged as a superstar. It also didn’t help that Dallas drafted Alvin Harper 12th overall in 1991. Still, he ranks 15th in franchise history in receiving yards among wide receivers and won a Super Bowl in 1991.
Clayton is best known for his role in the 2008 playoff blowout loss to the Giants, but he was a productive player throughout his six seasons with the Cowboys and exceeded expectations for a seventh-round pick: From 2006-09, he recorded 162 catches for 2,385 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Those are impressive numbers considering he was the fourth option in the passing game behind Terrell Owens, Jason Witten and Miles Austin. Among Cowboys wide receivers, Clayton is 16th all-time in receiving yards.
The late Terry Glenn was underrated throughout his time with Dallas. Drafted seventh overall by the Patriots in 1996, Glenn never lived up to his first-round draft expectations due to injuries. His best years in football came late in his career with the Cowboys. In four years, he recorded 3,337 total receiving yards. In 2005 and 2006, he recorded over 1,000 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns, good enough to be selected to the Pro Bowl.
Beasley’s seven seasons with the Cowboys were extremely productive. Guaranteed at least 40 catches and 400-800 yards receiving every year, Beasley finished with 319 receptions, 11th in team history. Known for moving the chains and finding weak spots in defenses in high-leverage situations, Beasley was an elite safety blanket for Tony Romo before enjoying his best seasons with Dak Prescott.
With the end of Gallup’s tenure with the Cowboys so front and center in fans’ minds, it’s easy to forget just how dynamic he was earlier in his career.
Gallup had 158 catches for 2,457 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first three seasons. The former third-round draft pick was knocking on the door to stardom before injuries derailed his career. He tore his ACL during the 2021 season and surgery appears to have taken a lot of elasticity and athleticism from it.
Nonetheless, Gallup has arguably the most impressive catch record of any Cowboys receiver, and he also ranks 11th in franchise history in receiving yards, which shouldn’t be underestimated.
It’s never easy playing in the shadow of one of the greatest players of all time, but Harper flourished as a secondary receiver for the Cowboys alongside Michael Irvin. A first-round draft pick out of Tennessee, Harper didn’t finish his rookie contract in Dallas, but he won two Super Bowls in four years.
Harper was an underrated player in the 1990s when he had 36 catches for 777 yards and five touchdowns during the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl win. The following year, Harper had 821 yards receiving and eight touchdowns as Dallas fell short in their bid to repeat in the NFC Championship. So, Harper was a great backup receiver for Irvin and a strong second option to Troy Aikman.
Rentzel came to the Cowboys after two years with Minnesota. From 1967-69, Rentzel recorded 2,965 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns. He had an NFL-leading 12 touchdowns in 1969 and left Dallas with several franchise records, including most receptions in a game (broken by Jason Witten) and consecutive 100-yard games (broken by Michael Irvin). Rentzel’s 242 playoff receiving yards rank fourth in club history.
A cult favorite throughout his time with Dallas, Austin is one of the franchise’s best undrafted free agent signings in team history, sharing the spotlight with Terrell Owens early in his career but his big break came in 2009 (after TO left the team) when he had 81 catches for 1,320 yards and was nominated for a Pro Bowl spot.
He’s 9th in Cowboys history in receiving yards, with a sizeable gap between him and the next receiver (Amari Cooper). Austin wasn’t a “star” league-wide, but he was a star with the Cowboys. There’s a reason he has the fifth-most targets among Dallas pass-catching players.
One of the most polarizing players in NFL history, Owens’ off-field headaches were well worth it. Signed as a free agent by head coach Bill Parcells in 2006, Owens dominated in three seasons with the Cowboys, ranking fourth in the NFL in receiving yards and first in receiving touchdowns during that span (2006-08).
Owens ranks second in Cowboys history with an average of 76.3 yards receiving per game and is in the top 10 with 38 receiving touchdowns. Despite recording a league-leading 13 touchdowns and nearly 1,200 yards receiving in 2007, he was selected to the Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro just once (2007).
That hurts, but Cooper has made a huge impact in three-plus seasons in Dallas, helping transform quarterback Dak Prescott and ranking 10th in Cowboys history with 3,893 receiving yards and fourth in receiving yards with an average of 69.5 yards per game.
While 2019 was Cooper’s best season in terms of statistical output, fans won’t soon forget the impact he had in 2018 when he was acquired from the Raiders mid-season. In just nine games, Cooper recorded 725 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Simply put, he was a top-10 receiving threat in the NFL throughout his time with the Cowboys.
Hill is a somewhat forgotten name, but his status as one of the Cowboys’ greatest receivers is undeniable. A third-round pick out of Stanford in 1976, Hill eclipsed the 1,000-yard milestone three times in his career. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times and Dallas made the playoffs in nine of his 10 seasons. His receiving yards are more than Drew Pearson and Dez Bryant, and his 51 touchdowns are fifth-most in Cowboys history.
It’s amazing that Lamb has already cracked the top five. While he still has a long way to go in his career, he is currently on pace to break all of the Cowboys receiving records. In just four seasons, Lamb is already seventh in team history in catches, eighth in yards and 11th in touchdowns. He leads the team with 78.0 receiving yards per game and those numbers are sure to continue to grow. A three-time Pro Bowl selection and just named to his first All-Pro First Team, Lamb could eventually become the Cowboys’ all-time No. 88.
Hayes is one of the most unique athletes to ever grace an NFL field. The former Olympic gold medalist and Cowboys legend was a two-time First Team All-Pro and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. “Bullet Bob” played all but one season with Dallas, playing a key role in the team’s first Super Bowl in 1971. Hayes ranks sixth in team history with 7,414 receiving yards, and only Jason Witten and Dez Bryant have caught more touchdowns than his 71.
Bryant is arguably the most iconic receiver to have played for the Cowboys. While Bryant’s prime was shorter than most of the WRs on this list, he was the most dominant. In Dallas history, “Dez” ranks third in receptions, fifth in receiving yards, and first in touchdown catches. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times and was named to the All-Pro team once. Playing in a golden generation of WRs that included Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Larry Fitzgerald, and Antonio Brown, Bryant was as dominant as any of them.
Pearson, an original No. 88, was ahead of his time at the wide receiver position. He was named First Team All-Pro three times, including when the Cowboys beat the Broncos to win their second Super Bowl in 1977. Pearson is fourth in Cowboys history in both catches (489) and receiving yards (7,822). He made some of the most memorable catches in team history, including Staubach’s Hail Mary that helped Dallas beat the Vikings in the divisional round of the 1975 playoffs.
Tight end Jason Witten holds most of the Cowboys’ receiving records, but when it comes to the wide receiver position, Irvin reigns supreme. He was the first Dallas wide receiver to reach 10,000 receiving yards. His 11,904 career receiving yards are nearly 4,000 more than the Cowboys’ next-leading receiver. Irvin was selected to five Pro Bowls and is a part of Cowboys history for helping the team win three Super Bowls in the 1990s.
Rank
player
Years with the Cowboys
Receiving Yards
1.
Michael Irvin
1988-1999
11,904
2.
Tony Hill
1977-1986
7,988
3.
Drew Pearson
1973-1983
7,822
Four.
Dez Bryant
2010-2017
7,489
Five.
Bob Hayes
1965-1974
7,295
6.
C.D. Lam
As of 2020
5,145
7.
Miles Austin
2006-2013
4,481
8.
Amari Cooper
2018-2021
3,893
9.
Michael Gallup
2018-2023
3,744
Ten.
Terrell Owens
2006-2008
3,587
