Dak Prescott is Everything The Dallas Cowboys Needed and More

Last season proved the team couldn’t get the job done without Romo. He missed a majority of the season and the team finished the season with just four wins. Elite receiver Dez Bryant was sidelined as well but the offensive line helped Darren McFadden rush for more than 1,000 yards. The backup quarterback position is where the team really suffered and that’s because of the Jones family’s bad choices. I would normally blame all of this on Jerry Jones, but Stephen Jones has a huge hand in deciding the team’s fate as well.

Last year, they started three different quarterbacks that were not named Romo. There was Brandon Weeden and I won’t even go into detail about the Weeden era in Dallas. If you want to read my feelings on him, refer to this article! Then there was Matt Cassel who came from the Buffalo Bills. He couldn’t keep his interceptions under control and should have never been promoted from a backup to a starter, but the team was desperate. Their last resort was Kellen Moore who came from the Detriot Lions and Moore didn’t know how to lead an offense or be a starter. The only player still on the team now is Moore who is currently sidelined with an ankle injury.

It was assumed the Cowboys would try to pick up a backup quarterback in the draft. Unsurprisingly, they picked Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick to fill their hole at running back even though the team had signed Alfred Morris.  Three rounds would go by before they would address the need for a quarterback with Dak Prescott. A product of Mississippi State, Prescott finished his career with SEC records, third in total yards and fourth in total touchdowns. He threw 70 touchdowns to just 22 interceptions, pretty impressive stats for a fourth-round pick.

It was a given that Romo would start this season but then, he got injured. At this point, I can’t even be surprised about it. Almost immediately, the Cowboys handed the reins over to Prescott who had played in all but one of their preseason games. When I finally saw Dak in action during the regular season, I was surprised, to say the least.

The biggest surprise was how poised and confident he looked in the pocket. Looking at him charge the offense down the field was incredible especially from a rookie. He was running that offense like he had been from day one and the offense clearly respected him for that. His confidence seemed to resonate through the team too which is something that the previous Dallas Cowboys backups severely lacked.

His mobility in and out of the pocket was such a welcomed change as well. With Tony Romo as a starter, you can’t expect much movement because next thing you know, he’ll have a broken back or fracture his collarbone. Dak, on the other hand, moves in and out of the pocket with ease, anchored by the offensive line of course and isn’t afraid to use his legs. He earned his first career rushing touchdown when he ran it in last week versus Washington.

He isn’t afraid to change it up. As we know, Witten is Romo’s security blanket but after week 1, we didn’t really see him rely on Witten. Even during the first game, he threw to six different receivers. The last being Terrance Williams who robbed him of his first win as a starter, but that’s a story for another day. I can already see him connecting with starting backs, Elliott and Alfred Morris too, another good sign of Prescott’s leadership and ability to be a team player.

I only have one worry with Prescott which I’m sure others share as well. He hasn’t thrown an interception yet which is amazing but he still hasn’t thrown a touchdown either. Let me rephrase that, he hasn’t thrown a touchdown that counted yet. The one he threw to Bryant was reversed and then Beasley dropped the ball on the following play. If he can finish the next game with at least one passing touchdown (or three), I’ll be happy. If not, we might have to stick to the run and kicking some field goals for a while or at least until Romo gets back.

It might seem foolish to put all of my eggs in one basket with Prescott, but I don’t see it that way. Romo is still projected to be out 8-10 weeks and it’s almost week 3 of the regular season. There are a lot of factors going into Romo’s recovery and having Prescott as the starter is the best interest for the team. Prescott already knows his role on the Cowboys, “This is Romo’s team. I’ve said that from the moment that I was named the starter and he went down. I’m just trying to do my best to win games and put this team in a successful position to do that week in and week out and when he comes back I’ll leave that up to the big guys.” Such a mature response coming from a rookie!

Before anyone says anything, I know Prescott was arrested for a DUI but was eventually found not guilty. At first, it concerned me about his maturity. It seems like he has learned from his mistake and has matured since then. No matter how the season goes for the Dallas Cowboys, I know they won’t regret taking Dak Prescott in the fourth round instead of Paxton Lynch in the first.

I could list a million and ten reasons why I love Dak but I haven’t mentioned the most important yet. He was a Dallas Cowboys fan when he was younger and now he’s essentially living his dream.