The best Dallas Cowboys player to wear No. 21 was 'Prime Time' entertainment

Welcome back to The Landry Hat's series on the greatest Dallas Cowboys players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.

We kicked off the 20s with a Hall of Famer, and we've got another one here at No. 21. The same goes for No. 22, of course, but let's not jump ahead just yet. The call here is quite obvious, but before we break things down, let's first have a quick look at everyone who's worn No. 21 for America's Team over the years.

David Adams, RB
Caelen Carson, CB
Dick Daniels, DB
Malik Davis, RB
Doug Dennison, RB
James Dixon, WR/RB
Ezekiel Elliott, RB
Stephon Gilmore, CB
Glynn Gregory, E/DB
Mark Higgs, RB
Carl Howard, DB
Mike Jenkins, DB
Adam Jones, DB
Julius Jones, RB
Terrance Mitchell, CB
Billy Parks, WR
Joseph Randle, RB
Derek Ross, DB
Deion Sanders, CB/WR
Lynn Scott, DB

Before we get to our winner, we absolutely must mention Ezekiel Elliott, who's the easy call here as the runner-up. Taken fourth overall by the Cowboys in the 2016 draft, the Ohio State alum wore No. 21 for the first seven of his eight years in Dallas, switching to No. 15 upon his return to the team in 2024 after spending a season with the New England Patriots.

In those first seven seasons, he earned three trips to the Pro Bowl and a pair of All-Pro selections (one First Team, one Second Team) and twice led the league in rushing, tallying 1,631 yards as a rookie and another 1,434 in 2018. While that last season wearing No. 15 wasn't great, Elliott racked up 8,488 yards and 71 touchdowns on the ground during his eight-year run with the Cowboys, both of which are good for third in franchise history. He also added another 2,405 yards and 12 scores on 317 receptions.

But for as good as Zeke was, we all know the call here is Deion Sanders.

Deion Sanders earned four All-Pro selections during his five-year run with the Dallas Cowboys

Taken fifth overall in the 1989 NFL Draft, in which the Cowboys selected Troy Aikman at No. 1, Sanders spent the first five seasons of his career with the Atlanta Falcons before spending the 1994 campaign with the San Francisco 49ers, winning Defensive Player of the Year and helping the Niners defeat Dallas in the NFC title game before taking down the then-San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl 29.

Highly coveted by several teams heading into the 1995 season, Sanders ultimately signed with the Cowboys, thanks largely in part to his friendship with Michael Irvin, and while his debut with Dallas was delayed due to knee surgery, he contributed nicely upon his return, recording a pair of interceptions in his seven regular-season appearances and another during Dallas' postseason run to a third Lombardi Trophy in four years.

While the Cowboys never made it back to the Super Bowl during Deion's time in Dallas, or even the NFC Championship Game for that matter, "Prime Time" still showed out over the next four seasons, earning four straight trips to the Pro Bowl, three consecutive First-Team All-Pro nods from 1996 to 1998, and a Second-Team All-Pro selection in 1999.

Now, the thing about Sanders is that he never really posted big numbers in terms of interceptions, but that's simply because quarterbacks were scared to throw the ball in his general direction, which is why he's considered one of the best lockdown cornerbacks of all time. Even so, he still tallied 14 picks in his five seasons in Dallas, two of which he returned for touchdowns.

While Sanders didn't do as much kick returning as he had with the Falcons early in his career, he still contributed some in that department for Dallas, recording 1,184 yards and four touchdowns on 89 punt returns and 136 yards on seven kickoff returns.

Outside of his friendship with Irvin, another one of the reasons Deion chose the Cowboys is because the team was willing to let him play more offense, and he ultimately made 49 catches for 624 yards and a touchdown as a receiver.

Cut by the Cowboys following the 1999 season for salary-cap purposes, Sanders signed a massive seven-year deal with the team now known as the Washington Commanders but only played one of them before retiring after the 2000 campaign. After three years away, he returned to play a pair of seasons for the Baltimore Ravens before finally retiring for good in January 2006.

Deion was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and began his coaching career one year later.

Other Dallas Cowboys jersey honorees

This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so please be sure to check back in with The Landry Hat for updates.

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Deion Sanders earned four All-Pro selections during his five-year run with the Dallas Cowboys

Other Dallas Cowboys jersey honorees

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