Beating this drum is getting close to being too much work. To be sure, Woody is also worn out by it. He has made it to the Final 15 twice in the last two years. He has now advanced to the Round of 25 semifinals eight times.

We learn Thursday night live on CBS, beginning at 8 p.m., from Las Vegas at the 13th annual NFL Honors event.

Here is where I would have begun if I had been chosen to present my case for one of the top Cowboys defenders of his 12-year (1992–2003) Cowboys career, which included three Super Bowl rings, five Pro Bowl honors, four All-Pro selections, and an induction into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.

Eight Cowboys defensive players—Charles Haley, Cliff Harris, Chuck Howley, Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro, Deion Sanders, DeMarcus Ware, and Randy White—are inducted into the Hall of Fame. The list is currently presented alphabetically. Playing for the Cowboys, only Haley has amassed more Super Bowl rings than Woody.

But consider this: Darren Ray Woodson, a safety with skill and adaptability unmatched at the position, has the most tackles in the 64-year history of the Cowboys, despite all these Hall of Fame players. Not Lilly. Not the individual. Not D-Ware. Not one of them.

With 1,350 career tackles, Woodson surpasses both Lee Roy Jordan (1,236 tackles) and Randy White (246 tackles). So let’s ponder that for a little while. None of these eight Hall of Famers has won more than five Super Bowls, eight conference titles, or thirty-six postseason games while playing for the Cowboys, where all eight of these greats have played.

That has to have some significance. With 787 solo tackles, 563 assisted tackles, and 134 special team tackles, he must lead the team. Give that some thought. To begin with, he was a safety who started 162 of the 178 games he played in (eight times he started all 16 regular-season games). If he hadn’t started just two games in his rookie season, that total would have been higher.

A mistake After playing Woody primarily on special teams and the nickel defense in 1992, Cowboys Hall of Fame head coach Jimmy Johnson once told me that one of his worst errors as a head coach was not believing the hybrid linebacker from Arizona State could have transitioned to an NFL safety as a rookie.

Furthermore, there’s no justification for Woody’s playing during a period when most of the 50 members of the Hall of Fame voting committee were too young to have witnessed his performances. For the majority of Woody’s career, 38 of those guys were active members of the media, if my estimation is correct.