Signed as an undrafted free agent in 1973 out of Tulsa, Drew Pearson arrived in Dallas as a former college quarterback making a full-time conversion to wide receiver. He quietly scraped onto the roster, contributing 388 receiving yards while handling kick return duties during his debut campaign. By year two, Pearson dropped special teams entirely and exploded into Tom Landry's target of choice, breaking out for 1,087 receiving yards to earn his first Pro Bowl selection and a First-Team All-Pro nod.

Pearson quickly earned the moniker "Mr. Clutch" for his uncanny ability to make impossible, game-defining catches in high-stakes situations. None was more famous than the 1975 NFC Divisional Playoff against Minnesota, when he hauled in Roger Staubach's miraculous 50-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds remaining—coining the phrase "Hail Mary" and forever altering football parlance. That knack for postseason heroics made him the focal point of Dallas's aerial attack throughout the 1970s.

His dominance peaked during a transcendent run from 1976 to 1977. Pearson earned back-to-back First-Team All-Pro honors, capping the 1977 season by leading the entire NFL with 870 receiving yards across a 14-game slate. That individual output helped propel the Cowboys to a 12–2 regular-season record and a dominant 27–10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII, bringing a second world title to Big D.

Pearson added another 1,026-yard receiving campaign in 1979 and remained a steady perimeter weapon into the early 1980s, establishing the benchmark for the franchise's legendary No. 88 jersey—a fraternity later carried on by Michael Irvin and CeeDee Lamb. His career came to an abrupt end following the 1983 season due to injuries sustained in a serious car accident, hanging up his cleats after a decade spent exclusively in a Cowboys uniform.

Over his career, Pearson appeared in 156 regular-season games, compiling 489 receptions, 7,822 receiving yards, and 48 receiving touchdowns—retiring as the franchise's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. A three-time First-Team All-Pro, three-time Pro Bowler, and member of the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, Pearson was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2011. After being narrowly passed over for the NFL's Centennial Class in 2020, his long-awaited call to Canton finally arrived with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.