Robert Jones MLB - Cowboys Madden Career 1993-2002 - Peak 89 OVR

Robert Jones was a consensus All-American at East Carolina and a first-round pick of the Cowboys in 1992, and he made an immediate impact, winning NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year and starting in the middle of a defense that would win three Super Bowls. He was the young signal-caller on a championship front, a sure tackler with range.

Madden's grade peaked early, with the Dallas years. Jones hit an 89 in Madden NFL 94 for his 1993 season, his best card, then declined after he left Dallas in a trade, settling into the 70s and low 80s with his later teams. The grade tracked a linebacker whose best football came young, on the best team he ever played for.

Jones piled up big tackle numbers, including a Pro Bowl season in 1994, won three rings with Dallas, and played a decade in all for the Rams, Dolphins, Washington and others, reuniting with Jimmy Johnson in Miami along the way. He finished with close to a thousand career tackles, a productive, durable starter who anchored a dynasty defense as a very young man. Madden's grade, high in Dallas and fading after, is the profile of a player whose peak and his championships arrived at the same time.