Travis Frederick arrived in Dallas surrounded by unfair skepticism from media pundits who labeled him a reach when the Cowboys took him 31st overall. He silenced those critics almost instantly, stepping onto the field as a Week 1 starter and immediately establishing himself as the intellectual brain and physical anchor of the Dallas offensive line.

Frederick served as the literal center point for what quickly became the premier offensive line in professional football alongside Tyron Smith and Zack Martin. Exceptional at diagnosing blitz packages and calling out front adjustments at the line of scrimmage, he paved highway-wide lanes for DeMarco Murray’s 2014 rushing title and Ezekiel Elliott’s dominant 2016 rookie campaign. Frederick’s rare combination of anchor strength, elite leverage, and football IQ earned him five Pro Bowl selections in his six active seasons, culminating in First-Team All-Pro honors in 2016.

Tragedy struck before the 2018 season when Frederick was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease that forced him to miss the entire campaign. Showing incredible resilience and determination, he fought his way back to the gridiron in 2019, starting all 16 games and earning his fifth Pro Bowl selection in a triumphant comeback story.

Listening to his body, Frederick made the difficult decision to retire abruptly in March 2020 at just 29, choosing his long-term health over continued gridiron accolades. Though his career was shorter than expected, his peak performance at center remains one of the most dominant stretches at the position in modern NFL history.

Frederick started all 96 regular-season games he played in (plus three postseason starts).

Long before small-school gems became prized commodities in modern draft rooms, Jethro Pugh put Elizabeth City State College on the national football map. Drafted in the 11th round in 1965, the 6-foot-6 North Carolina native arrived in Big D as a project with extraordinary length and explosive leverage. Tom Landry and Gil Brandt recognized those raw traits, molding Pugh into a dominant interior enforcer who anchored the legendary "Doomsday Defense" for nearly a decade and a half.

After serving as a rotational backup during his first two seasons, Pugh claimed the starting left defensive tackle spot in 1967. Lined up adjacent to Hall of Fame tackle Bob Lilly, Pugh took immediate advantage of the single-coverage schemes generated by Lilly's presence. He earned Second-Team All-Pro honors in 1967, bringing a rare blend of interior quickness and length that systematically disrupted opposing pocket mechanics.

While high-profile teammates like Lilly, Randy White, and Harvey Martin frequently captured national headlines and Pro Bowl nods, Pugh served as the unsung enforcer of Landry’s Flex system. He led the Cowboys in quarterback sacks for five consecutive seasons from 1968 through 1972, proving to be one of the most prolific interior pass rushers of his era. Though sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982, internal team tracking credits Pugh with an eye-popping 95.5 career sacks.

Pugh was a constant big-game anchor during the franchise’s golden era, appearing in four Super Bowls and helping Dallas win Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII. His remarkable durability allowed him to log 13 consecutive postseason appearances, compiling 23 playoff games in navy and silver while anchoring an interior front that consistently dominated winter football.

When he retired after the 1978 season, Pugh departed as one of the longest-tenured and most dependable defensive contributors in franchise history. His 14 seasons in the Big D tie him for the third-longest tenure in Cowboys history, a testament to his toughness and technical mastery.

Over his career, Pugh compiled 96.5 unofficial sacks and 14 fumble recoveries.

Selected in the third round out of Stanford in 1977, Tony Hill was a smooth, long-striding athlete who earned his stripes on special teams. Used primarily as a punt returner during his rookie campaign, Hill logged a minor role on offense, but he walked away with a championship ring following Dallas's victory over Denver in Super Bowl XII.

He stepped into the starting lineup the very next season and never looked back. Possessing rare deep speed and elite tracking ability, Hill quickly won over head coach Tom Landry, who dubbed him the offense's "home run hitter" for his uncanny knack for blowing top-covers off opposing secondaries. Hill validated that confidence in 1978 by pulling down 46 passes for 823 yards and six touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl nod and helping lead Dallas to an appearance in Super Bowl XIII.

His breakout campaign sparked a dominant era for the Dallas passing game. In 1979, Hill hauled in 60 receptions for 1,062 yards and ten touchdowns. Paired alongside Drew Pearson and Tony Dorsett, Hill helped the Cowboys make history as the first NFL offense to boast two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher in the same season. He backed that up in 1980 with another 1,055-yard, eight-touchdown showcase, cementing his status as Roger Staubach's and later Danny White's premier downfield weapon.

Hill remained the cornerstone of the receiving corps through the mid-1980s, producing high-volume output even as defenders rolled coverage heavily toward his side. His individual peak arrived in 1985, when he set career highs with 74 receptions for 1,113 yards and seven touchdowns, earning his third Pro Bowl selection. Across his decade in silver and navy, Hill recorded three 1,000-yard seasons and served as the steady big-play threat that bridged the Landry dynasty into its late era.

Hill was waived after the 1986 season. With Dallas, Hill secured 479 receptions, 7,988 receiving yards, and 51 receiving touchdowns.

Following Oklahoma's victory in the 2000 national championship, Roy Williams entered the 2002 NFL Draft as the leading figure among collegiate defensive backs. The consensus All-American achieved a clean sweep of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Jim Thorpe Award in 2001, establishing himself as the country's most formidable enforcer. The Dallas Cowboys, aiming to make him the cornerstone of their secondary, traded up to pick the hard-hitting safety eighth overall.

Paired alongside veteran Darren Woodson as a rookie free safety in 2002, Williams wasted no time asserting his presence, earning All-Rookie honors while tying a franchise record with two interception returns for touchdowns. His true breakout arrived in 2003, when he logged 75 tackles and two picks to earn First-Team All-Pro honors, anchoring Bill Parcells' top-ranked defense and kicking off an impressive run of five consecutive Pro Bowl selections through 2007.

Williams was a throwback defensive back whose sheer physicality fundamentally changed how opposing receivers approached the middle of the field. Known for imposing, bone-jarring hits, his horse-collar tackling technique proved so punishing to ball-carriers that the NFL officially outlawed the move after the 2004 season—a mandate forever etched in league vernacular as the "Roy Williams Rule”.

Shifting permanently to strong safety in 2005, Williams continued to serve as a primary physical enforcer for Big D, putting together back-to-back five-interception campaigns in 2002 and 2006. However, as the league increasingly shifted toward high-flying passing attacks, his physical, run-support style faced mounting coverage challenges against speedier tight ends and slot receivers.

A forearm fracture derailed his 2008 season after just three games, prompting his release from Dallas the following spring. Williams spent two final seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before hanging up his cleats.

He compiled 19 interceptions, 510 combined tackles, 6.5 sacks, 56 pass deflections, and three defensive touchdowns for Dallas.