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The 11 Best Dallas Cowboys of the Past Decade (2010-2019)

By Reid Hanson

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 10: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) Dez Bryant #88 of the Dallas Cowboys prepares to take on the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 10: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) Dez Bryant #88 of the Dallas Cowboys prepares to take on the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 29: Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saints is tackled by Sean Lee #50 of the Dallas Cowboys and Leighton Vander Esch #55 during the second half of a game at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on September 29, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

No. 9 Sean Lee, LB

Dallas Cowboys: 2010-present

Sean Lee, aka “General Lee”, is the OG of this defense. Lee, drafted in 2010, perfectly represents all of the good of the Dallas Cowboys last decade.

After injuring his knee at Penn State, Lee fell in the draft. Dallas picked him up in the second round and the rest is history. Lee started slowly as he recovered his knee, but by his second season he had already established himself as star at linebacker and leader of the defense. Sadly, injuries would continue to inhibit him throughout his career and between 2010 and 2018 Lee would only 4435 of the defense’s 8426 possible snaps (Per Pro Football Focus).

Sean Lee has long been one of the NFL’s top run-stoppers. PFF points out his 11.9% run stop percentage is first among all linebackers (with at least 500 snaps). For years the Dallas Cowboys defense seemingly imploded when Lee was off the field. This is a testament to his leadership as well as his ability.

When Dallas picked up Leighton Vander Esch in 2018, the writing was on the wall for Lee. LVE and Jaylon Smith formed one of the NFL’s best LB duo’s in ’18 and Lee was relegated to just 247 snaps. But then injuries (and admittedly regression) from LVE and Jaylon led to more opportunities, and despite nagging injuries of his own, Sean Lee has been able to be a difference maker for the Dallas Cowboys yet again.

This season he played 637 snaps and rated higher than the man he replaced, Vander Esch. Lee is allowing opposing QBs only a 94.6% passer rating, which sounds high, but is on par with his LB peers and an improvement from his already respectable 99.7 he was averaging the three years prior.

At age 33, Sean Lee is not the player he once was but he’s still a clear asset and an absolute legend in Cowboys Nation. The past decade, Sean Lee has been one of the hardest working, most prepared athletes on the team. The former Pro Bowler carried the defense for years and even now it’s easy to see why he’s one of the 11 best Dallas Cowboys of the decade.

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