By Pro Football Focus

Breaking Down The Roster To be considered a Super Bowl contender, 40 percent of the players who took part in at least 250 snaps (varies by team) have to be rated as good or elite. Here's how Pro Football Focus evaluated each of the Cowboys' 30 qualifying players.*

*Pro Football Focus uses its proprietary metrics to evaluate every player on every snap in every game. Each player's rating here is based solely off how his performance in 2014 compared to that of the peers at his position. For more methodology explanation, click here .

THE INSIDE STORY

Where NFL Nation agrees/disagrees with Pro Football Focus

by Todd Archer, ESPN.com

WR Dez Bryant: His skills are beyond question. So are his stats. He's put up three straight 1,000-yard seasons and had a team-record 16 touchdown catches. Like Murray, he is set to be a free agent, but if the Cowboys don't reach a long-term deal with Bryant, they will use the franchise tag on him. Bryant has improved each year, but he still struggles at times with press coverage despite his physical prowess. In the red zone, however, he might be the most dynamic receiver in the NFL. Since 2013, Bryant has 21 red zone catches; 18 of those have gone for touchdowns.

RB DeMarco Murray: After missing games with ankle, foot and knee injuries in his first three years, it all came together for Murray in 2014, when he led the NFL in rushing with 1,845 yards. He did not miss a game, even playing with a broken hand. He showed the ability to make the big run, with a league-leading 45 carries of 10 yards or more, but perhaps more importantly, Murray became more efficient in picking up the "dirty yards," as coach Jason Garrett calls them. Murray is set to become an unrestricted free agent and offers up an interesting case study for the Cowboys. Is he a premier back worthy of big money? Or is he the product of an elite offensive line? Lately, teams have shied away from giving large contracts to running backs because of how quickly they seem to wear down, but are the Cowboys really going to let one of the key cogs in their 12-4 season sign elsewhere?

G Zack Martin: Truth be told, if Ryan Shazier were available when the Cowboys picked in the first round of the 2014 draft, the linebacker would have been the choice, not Martin. The best decisions sometimes involve luck. Martin was named to the Pro Bowl and became the first Cowboys rookie since 1969 to earn All-Pro honors. But he brought more than just accolades. He solidified Dallas' line, especially the interior where Tony Romo, like all quarterbacks, hates pressure up the middle. Martin was a tackle at Notre Dame and RTs Doug Free and Jermey Parnell are both free agents, but Martin is too good to move out of the right guard spot.

DTs Tyrone Crawford and Henry Melton: The best move the Cowboys made this year was putting Crawford in at the 3-technique early in the season when Melton was battling through leg injuries. Crawford had just three sacks, but he compiled 29 QB pressures and the coaches credited him with 37 tackles. He is the prototype 3-technique and was miscast as a defensive end. Melton's first and likely only year with the Cowboys looks OK because he had five sacks, but he was saved twice from being inactive because of injuries to other players. The coaches were not always enamored with his effort, but Melton insists he was never 100 percent after tearing his ACL in 2013.

ILB Rolando McClain: It was a pretty innocuous trade: The Cowboys gave Baltimore a 2015 sixth-round pick and received McClain and a 2015 seventh-rounder. The linebacker turned out to be the Cowboys' best defender for a good portion of the season. He missed three games, but still managed 108 tackles, a sack, nine tackles for loss, two interceptions, five quarterback pressures, five pass breakups and a forced fumble. He looked like the player the Oakland Raiders thought they were drafting in 2010 with the eighth overall pick. McClain will be a free agent this spring, so it will be interesting to see whether he believes more in his fit with the Cowboys than how much money he can make.

QB Tony Romo: What does a quarterback have to do to be elite? Romo had his best season in 2014: He completed 69.9 percent of his passes, threw 34 touchdowns to just 8 interceptions and led the NFL in Total QBR (82.7). His 3,705 yards were the fewest he's had in a full season, but that was a direct result of how much the Cowboys ran the ball in 2014. One thing is for sure: Romo displayed a toughness that statistics cannot capture by playing through torn rib cartilage and two transverse process fractures. The question is, how many more years can he play at this level? Romo turns 35 in April.

TEs James Hanna and Gavin Escobar: Hanna arrived in Arlington known for his speed, but he's made his mark as an effective blocker in the Cowboys' zone scheme. Escobar has the misfortune of being a second-round pick and playing behind Jason Witten. Opportunities will be limited, especially with the way Hanna has blocked. Escobar has shown some ability in the red zone -- three of his four touchdowns in 2014 came inside the 20 -- but the Cowboys had to be expecting more than just 18 catches in his first two seasons.

OLB Justin Durant: When Sean Lee was lost for the year, the Cowboys looked first to Durant as a replacement, before giving the job to Rolando McClain. Durant's best spot, however, is weak-side linebacker. Before suffering a season-ending biceps injury in Week 8, Durant made an impact, putting up double-digit tackles in four of his six games, while adding four tackles for loss. He will be a free agent this spring, and if he comes in at the right price, the Cowboys would like to bring him back.

OLB Anthony Hitchens: The Cowboys drafted Hitchens to serve as Sean Lee's backup and learn the middle linebacker position from one of the game's best. But the Iowa product ended up starting 11 games at all three linebacker spots, and the coaches credited him with 100 tackles. He has the instincts for the position, as evidenced by two fourth-down tackles that stopped drives. He also displayed toughness playing through a high ankle sprain. The Cowboys have decisions to make at linebacker -- Bruce Carter, Justin Durant and Rolando McClain are all free agents -- but they now know they can plug Hitchens in at any spot and not have a problem.

CB Brandon Carr: Since signing a free-agent deal that guaranteed him $26.5 million in 2012, Carr has failed to live up to expectations. He did not have an interception all year and will forever be remembered for giving up Odell Beckham's one-handed grab. If you're looking for a positive, Carr was much more aggressive in all facets of his game since the Beckham catch. Still, his 2015 cap number is $12.7 million, and the Cowboys will either part ways with him or look to get him to accept a pay cut.

DT Nick Hayden: The Cowboys coaches would vigorously disagree with Hayden being in this category. He is not a world-beater, but he led the defensive line in tackles with 52 and had four tackles for loss and eight quarterback hurries. Hayden is counted on to do the dirty work in Rod Marinelli's scheme, and while he's not a cornerstone player, his reliability makes him one of Marinelli's favorites.