The Madden 27 cover is here, and it belongs to Caleb Williams. Two versions of it have the football world buzzing. But the reveal got me thinking about the Dallas Cowboys and their own history of dominant individual seasons.

Which Cowboys players put together years so special they deserved to grace that iconic cover? Let’s break it down. But first, some ground rules: We’ll work starting from the most recent season and work backward. And we’ll start with a controversial pick.

George Pickens, 2025

• The stats: 93 catches, 1,429 receiving yards, nine touchdowns

This one might raise some eyebrows, but it shouldn’t. We’re talking about a second-team All-Pro wide receiver here. The stats alone make the case, but the storyline pushes it over the top.

You want personality on the Madden cover. You want someone with a narrative. Pickens arrived in Dallas dragging baggage from his Pittsburgh days. The critics said he had attitude problems. They said he was limited, a contested-catch specialist who could only win on the outside. Neither accusation held up.

Pickens bought in with his teammates, played from the slot, proved himself a legitimate YAC monster, and turned 2025 into a full-blown redemption year. Even on a team with a losing record, his season was cover-worthy.

Dak Prescott, 2023

• 4,516 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, 69.5% completion percentage, 105.9 passer rating, nine interceptions

There’s a problem with this one, and I’ll say it upfront: The season ended with the Cowboys losing to the Green Bay Packers in embarrassing fashion, as the latter became the first seven seed to ever win a playoff game. That collapse would have drawn plenty of criticism on a Madden cover.

But look at it objectively. Prescott was the MVP runner-up behind Lamar Jackson. He led the NFL with 36 passing touchdowns. He led the league in quarterback rating. He earned second-team All-Pro honors. In December, after that Seattle Seahawks game, he was the MVP favorite. We’ve got to give him respect for what he did during that regular season.

Micah Parsons, 2022

• The stats: 13.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 90 pressures, three forced fumbles, 65 tackles

You could pick any Parsons season from 2021 to 2023 and build a case. But 2022 stands out for one reason: the playoffs. While Prescott’s 2023 candidacy gets dinged by how January ended for the Cowboys, Parsons owned the Tampa Bay wild card game. He was all over Tom Brady. We like to joke that he ended Brady’s career, which obviously isn’t true, but we have some fun with it.

The regular season numbers were absurd. Parsons started 17 games, racked up 13.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, three pass deflections, and led the league with over 100 pressures including the postseason. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting for the second consecutive year. This was the season where Parsons settled in full-time as an edge rusher after moving around as a rookie in 2021.

Ezekiel Elliott, 2016

• The stats: 1,631 rushing yards, 365 receiving yards, 16 total touchdowns

This one was all about the vibes. Elliott walked into the league as a rookie and became the best running back in football. He led the NFL in carries and still averaged over five yards per attempt, finishing with 1,631 rushing yards. Add 15 touchdowns and 365 receiving yards, and you’re looking at nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

And here’s where it gets fun. You could have done a dual cover with Dak Prescott, the way they did with Larry Fitzgerald and Ben Roethlisberger years ago. Two rookies, the No. 1 seed in the NFC, an 11-game win streak, a victory at Lambeau Field without Dez Bryant. I still remember the Offensive Rookie of the Year ceremony where Prescott won the award but Zeke walked up to the stage with him and they accepted it together. A dual Madden cover would have been perfect.

Dez Bryant, 2014

• The stats: 88 catches, 1,320 receiving yards, 16 receiving touchdowns

Such a tricky year because the candidates were stacked. Tony Romo had a fantastic season. DeMarco Murray led the league in rushing. Jason Witten was productive. But I’m going with Bryant because he was a first-team All-Pro. He hauled in a poetic 88 catches for 1,320 receiving yards and led the NFL with 16 touchdowns, scoring in 11 of 16 regular season games. The only reason Murray doesn’t take this spot is the offensive line argument. Bryant’s individual dominance was undeniable.

Other Cowboys: honorable mentions

A few more names deserve a nod:

• 2023 DaRon Bland: Set the NFL record for pick-sixes in a single season.
• 2021 Trevon Diggs: Led the league in interceptions.
• 2008 DeMarcus Ware: A lot of seasons you could pick here, but have to go with his 20-sack season, when he also led the NFL in tackles for loss at 27.
• And one name that would never actually happen but deserves a mention: Brandon Aubrey after his 2023 season, when he was drilling 60-plus-yard field goals and came out of nowhere to become one of the most exciting kickers in the league.