Dak Prescott has gone from a forgotten fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft to a household name in just two preseason games. The Dallas Cowboys were hoping to hit big with Prescott and they have done just that so far. He has become a fan favorite already and is showing off an NFL ready arm.
Jerry Jones has to be feeling very good about the No. 135 overall pick. Prescott was a superstar for the Mississippi State Bulldogs in college and is hoping to translate his success to the next level.
Looking ahead at the future for the Cowboys, Tony Romo only has a few more seasons left. His body has taken a beating throughout his career and they will need a replacement for him. Enter, Dak Prescott.
In his first preseason game, Prescott completed 10 of his 12 pass attempts for 139 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, while picking up 13 rushing yards on two attempts. Prescott then proceeded to complete 12 of his 15 pass attempts for 199 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, while racking up 28 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
After 2 preseason games, Dak Prescott has a perfect passer rating (158.3) and has more TD (6) than incompletions (5) pic.twitter.com/teDu1h63MU
— Keyshawn, JWill & Max (@KeyJayandMax) August 22, 2016
Prescott is without question the heir apparent to Romo, even though he has only played in two preseason games.
How can that bold of a statement be made after watching meaningless preseason games? Quite simply, it isn’t the numbers that Prescott has put up, but rather the way that he played while recording them.
At one point, the Cowboys were shopping Prescott in trade talks. A report from SportsDay Dallas News has made it clear that Jones has taken Prescott off of the trade block following his breakout performances.
Pro Football Focus heaped praise on Prescott following his first preseason game, ranking him the top rookie of the week .
Top graded rookies in week 1 of the preseason QB – Dak Prescott, DAL RB – Derrick Henry, TEN WR – Jakeem Grant, MIA TE – Tyler Higbee, LA
— PFF (@PFF) August 16, 2016
While he has without question staked an early claim for the starting quarterback job after Romo retires, everyone seems to agree that he shouldn’t see any regular season playing time this year barring another injury to Romo.
Tim Hasselbeck, an NFL media member, spoke very clearly about his feeling that Prescott shouldn’t play this season .
“The best thing for the Cowboys is that Dak Prescott does not play a single snap this season.” – Tim Hasselbeck pic.twitter.com/QR8vsiDTPQ
— Keyshawn, JWill & Max (@KeyJayandMax) August 23, 2016
All of that being said, the Cowboys have a potential star on their hands. If Prescott can continue playing at the level that he has shown in his first two games, he would be one of the great quarterbacks in the history of the game. That isn’t reasonable to expect, but he can work hard and become an above average starting quarterback in Dallas.
Despite the two big performances that Prescott has shown, he still has a lot of critics. That isn’t something that has bothered Prescott throughout his career to this point, and it won’t start bothering him now.
Seeing the confidence and leadership that Prescott has displayed over the last two weeks should excite the Cowboys’ fan base. Very few rookie quarterbacks have that kind of confidence in themselves.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what Prescott has in store over the next two weeks. There is a good chance that we won’t see him again until next preseason after these next two games. If that is indeed the case, he has done enough to earn himself a spot behind Romo as the primary backup.
Dallas seems to have gotten lucky with the selection of Prescott. Things may change in the future, but for now, he could go down as a major steal from the 2016 draft.
Expect to see two more big performances from Prescott in the Cowboys’ final two preseason games, and to see him stake even more of a claim on the future starting quarterback job.
Do you think Dak Prescott is the heir apparent to Tony Romo at the quarterback position? Is he the biggest steal of the 2016 NFL Draft at this point? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!
[Photo by Mark J. Terrill/AP Images]