Wade Wilson played a more prominent role in the Dallas Cowboys drafting Dak Prescott than you think

Last week the Dallas Cowboys signed Dak Prescott to the biggest contract in franchise history which is obviously a testament to how much they believe in him and the future that he will provide for the organization. On the field Prescott has accomplished a great deal during his five seasons suiting up for America’s Team, granted he missed double-digit games last season, and off of the field he has been heralded for his work and giving spirit in a number of ways.

In terms of people that interact with him you would be hard-pressed to find a negative thing said about Dak Prescott. The impact that he makes on people seems to resonate with them, an idea that extends beyond his teammates and those whom he joins the huddle with.

Wade Wilson played a more prominent role in the Dallas Cowboys drafting Dak Prescott than you think

Coaches obviously connect with their players and establish relationships that go both ways. Jason Garrett was famously very close with Dak Prescott, their relationship was on full display early on in their work together when they would play their target game after practices.

One coach who played a prominent role in Dak landing in Dallas in general though was the late Wade Wilson. It has been said and documented many times that Wilson was a strong advocate for Prescott in the draft process.

In his Football Morning in America column this week Peter King shared a story that took Wilson’s endorsement of Prescott to another level. He told a story of how Prescott impressed Jason Garrett (a big deal considering the seat that Garrett occupied in Dallas) during his pre-draft interview as he handled questions about Xs and Os as well as the DUI that dogged him in the draft process.

According to King, Jason Garrett was wildly impressed by Prescott’s calm demeanor and reserve in handling things thrown at him so quickly. While Dak has demonstrated this quality in the years since, King notes that Wade Wilson prepared the quarterback appropriately.

Wilson died on his 60th birthday, Feb. 1, 2019. After the funeral, which Garrett and Prescott attended, Prescott told Garrett something he’d never planned to tell him. Remember my pre-draft visit to the facility? Remember how you quizzed me about those plays and my off-the-field stuff? Garrett said of course he recalled it.

Well, Prescott told him, before that meeting, Wilson had briefed him in great detail on the plays Garrett would be quizzing him about, and told him he’d be pressing him on the DUI also. Prescott aced the test, it turns out, because Wilson had given him the questions and the answers before he walked into his Dallas Cowboys final exam.

So now, if you’re a Cowboys fan and you love Dak Prescott, know that the late Wade Wilson—a man who’d never have advertised that he’d been the biggest Prescott cheerleader in the building—might deserve a quiet but important assist in making him the long-term Cowboys quarterback.

This story speaks to the influence that coaches can have in the pre-draft process and in this case how big of a fan Wade Wilson was of Dak Prescott. A lot of things in the NFL, and really life in general, can be traced back to beginnings that would not have happened if not for the tiniest detail, and in this case it is fair to wonder if Dak Prescott would have ever been the Cowboys pick at number 135 had Wade Wilson not been as impressed as he was.

Of course, the Cowboys tried twice that draft to pick other quarterbacks that were not Dak Prescott as we all know. Sometimes things ultimately work out for the best, and in the case of the Dallas Cowboys it appears that they are happy things went this way.