This offseason feels both like it is flying by, and like it is taking forever. For instance, the 2021 NFL Draft, where the Dallas Cowboys focused heavily on defense, feels like yesterday. On the other side of that coin, the Cowboys also handed out the richest contract in franchise history over these last few months, a devotion to the offensive side of the ball, in finally locking down Dak Prescott, and that feels like forever ago.
Unfortunately we have yet to approach the “hump day” of the offseason (we are incidentally a week away), which means that there is still more time until the Cowboys’ next regular-season game than Super Bowl LV. Incidentally the team that won the latter is the one that the former will see in the first game of consequence this year.
Soon enough, football will be played and people will be back to being euphoric or upset. Until then, people will continue to debate and argue, and what better thing to have a take on than Dak Prescott’s standing as an NFL quarterback?
PFF ranked Dak Prescott just outside of the top five for all 32 starting quarterbacks
Franchise quarterbacks aren’t really a letter grade as much as they are a pass-fail proposition. If you have one, regardless of where he ranks against his peers, you are in a coveted club as he can/will propel you to victory.
Ultimately, Dak Prescott is certainly a top quarterback in today’s game, but where would you rank him precisely? PFF ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks and had him as number seven in the NFL.
Dak is back. Prescott was on pace for the best season of his career before going down to a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5 last year. For the second straight season, the Cowboys’ offense was moving the ball effectively through the air. But will the unit pick up where it left off before Prescott got injured?
Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Prescott are going on seven years together — two as a player and the rest as a coach. They know what each other likes and how to make this offense roll. In Prescott’s four full NFL seasons, he’s had two top-10 finishes in PFF grade but also two finishes closer to the 20s. With Dallas’ bevy of playmakers on the outside, I would expect this offense to again find its footing once Prescott dusts off the cobwebs.
What Prescott was “on pace for” last season is hardly ground to stand on in defending his cause. What he was doing before he was injured in 2020 wasn’t necessarily sustainable and wouldn’t have necessarily translated across the rest of the season.
Still, though, we have seen enough from Dak in terms of his physical makeup, functional improvement over the years, what he has on his resumé, and how he is regarded by his teammates, to know that he is the real deal. Citing Prescott’s familiarity with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is definitely a notable point; don’t forget that Moore was re-signed to a three-year deal this offseason as well. Having second-year wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in Prescott’s arsenal alongside a growing Michael Gallup, and an established Amari Cooper, all support the idea that he is going to be great again.
In the name of rankings though, is he truly the seventh-best quarterback in the game at the moment? Here are the top 10 in totality from PFF’s ranking.
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
- Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
- Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
- Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
- Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
The only quarterbacks who I would undoubtedly take over Prescott today, in terms of building a team for the future so factoring in age, are Mahomes, Rodgers, and Allen. Tom Brady is Tom Brady, but again we are factoring in age here, and then the competition really begins in my eyes.
Poll
Is Dak Prescott the seventh-best quarterback in the NFL?
This poll is closed
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38%
Yes
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46%
No, he should be higher on the list (as in he’s better than that)
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14%
No, he should be lower on the list (as in he’s worse than that)