Welcome to the second entry in our series on the best player to wear every Dallas Cowboys jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
Our first winner, of course, came by default, as there's only been one player in the 65-plus-year history of America's Team to wear No. 0. But here at No. 1, we now have options. But before we get to our victor, let's first have a look at every Cowboys player who's worn the number over the years.
- Kerry Brady, K
- Efren Herrera, K
- Kelvin Joseph, CB
- Jayron Kearse, S
- P.J. Locke, S
- Mat McBriar, P
- Hunter Niswander, P
- Rafael Septien, K
- Jalen Tolbert, WR
- Ken Willis, K
- Cedrick Wilson Jr., WR
If we were looking at this like an Olympic podium, standing with the bronze medal would be kicker Effren Herrera, who was the second Mexican-born player to be drafted into the NFL and spent four of nine seasons in the league in Dallas from 1974 to 1977, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in that final year to help the Cowboys to their second Super Bowl victory.
The silver medal would go to kicker Rafael Septien, who came to the Cowboys in his second NFL season in 1978 to replace Herrera and remained with the team until being released in January 1987 after pleading guilty to a charge we will not get into here. At the time of his release, the one-time All-Pro was the franchise leader in scoring, and his 874 points are still good for second behind only Emmitt Smith's 986.
In the end, though, the gold medal goes to punter Mat McBriar, who's unequivocally one of the best punters in franchise history.
Mat McBriar was a borderline great punter for the Dallas Cowboys
A two-time All-WAC selection at the University of Hawai'i, McBriar went undrafted in 2003 but was signed by the Denver Broncos, who traded him during the preseason to the Seattle Seahawks, who then cut him before the regular season.
The Australian signed with the Cowboys' practice squad late in that 2003 season, earned the starting job in 2004, and held it until he left the team following the 2011 campaign.
In his eight full seasons in Dallas, McBriar was consistently among the league leaders in average yards per punt and twice led the NFL in that category, averaging 48.2 yards in 2006 and 47.9 in 2010, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl and a Second-Team All-Pro selection both years.
That '06 season included a 75-yard punt in a Week 5 win over the Houston Texans, which, at the time, was tied for the second-longest punt in Cowboys history behind only Ron Widby's 84-yard bomb in 1968. Bryan Anger moved into the second slot with an 83-yarder in 2022, but McBriar still sits in a tie for third alongside Billy Lothridge.
Of the 10 best single-season averages in Cowboys history, McBriar owns four of them, with five belonging to Anger, and the other belonging to another of the players you saw above to wear No. 1, Hunter Niswander. He's fourth in franchise history with 18,954 punt net yards, per Pro Football Reference.
Upon leaving the Cowboys, McBriar closed out his career with short stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the then-San Diego Chargers.
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