The 15 greatest first-round picks in Dallas Cowboys history

4. DeMarcus Ware, DE, 2005

One of the few times Jerry Jones overrode a coach and it actually worked out was in 2005 when Bill Parcells wanted to take Marcus Spears at No. 11 but Jones said they were taking DeMarcus Ware instead.

Easily the biggest name from Troy football history, Ware was considered a great fit as a 3-4 pass rusher, but there were some calling him a Round 2 pick. Even with the 20th selection in their back pocket, Jones didn’t want to risk missing out on Ware, so he made the call.

Parcells believed Spears was the missing piece to their 3-4 defensive front and while he might have been upset at being overruled, he still got his guy at No. 20 as Spears was there for the taking. As for Ware, he only went on to become the best pass-rusher in team history.

Ware had eight sacks as a rookie and then put up at least 11 from 2006 through 2012 — including 20 in 2008 and 19.5 in 2011. In all, he had 117 sacks for Dallas, which puts him first overall in their record books. He even had some hope of joining the Hall of Fame in 2022.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1424792593934667786?s=20&t=EzLgb1EQF6g3ZG8dP3Dh1Q

Unfortunately for Ware, this didn’t happen as he wasn’t one of the players selected in 2022, meaning he won’t be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Despite this, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him enshrined one day.

Not only did he put up great stats for one of the more visible teams in the NFL but he finished his career as a member of the Denver Broncos where he recorded another 21.5 sacks and won a Super Bowl following the 2015 season.