There are officially 96 days until the toe meets the ball at AT&T Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys will host the New York Giants on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
The countdown to the 2015 NFL Season continues as today we continue our Cowboy countdown of jersey numbers. Today we have determined who the Greatest 96 in Dallas Cowboys History is.
The following players have all worn 96 for the Dallas Cowboys:
- Antonio Anderson, DT
- Shante Carver, DE (Shante was also featured on our 98 list)
- Ebenezer Ekuban, DE
- Clifton Geathers, DE
- Nick Hayden*, DT
- Marcus Spears, DE
- Danny Stubbs, DE
*Active player on the Dallas Cowboys roster
We haven’t had any serious competitions so far, and 96 isn’t too different. Danny Stubbs was the greatest thing 96 had ever seen in the early 90s with his 67 tackles, but that would be outdone by the early 2000s as Ebenezer Ekuban stole the crown with 87.
The king of 96 though is undoubtedly Marcus Spears. Taken with the 20th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University. The terrific Tiger was one of two first round draft picks that the Cowboys had that year, the other to be featured later this week (no spoilers here).
Spears is easily master of the 96 domain for a few reasons. He’s the only player that wore it to last longer than five seasons (Spears played 8 for the ‘Boys), he has a staggering 138 tackles (first on the list), and he is second in sacks to the aforementioned Ezkuban.
Spears helped reinvigorate the Cowboys in the Romo era and, similar to Chris Canty and Greg Ellis who have both been mentioned on this list, was a cornerstone player on the 2007 team that went 13-3.
Check back tomorrow to find out who the Greatest 95 in Dallas Cowboys History is!
