Dallas Cowboys: Where will Dak Prescott rank among NFL QBs in 2017?
By Jimmy Long
There has been a lot of fanfare this offseason about how the Dallas Cowboys quarterback will perform in 2017. How will he stack up against his peers?
Sophomore slump? Pshh. Not for Dak Prescott. While it has become commonplace in today’s NFL to assume that second year players will see a dip in their production, but that shouldn’t be the case for the Dallas Cowboys star signal caller.
Dak Prescott has approached his sophomore season with the same process that made him the most successful rookie quarterback in NFL history. Hard work. To sum up his approach, just read this quote from The Star Telegram:
"“All I’ve ever known is hard work, and hard work pays off”"
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That’s exactly the attitude that led him to have the great camp he has had. His offense coordinator sure took notice, even going as far as to say that Prescott has thrown some of the best deep balls he has seen in recent camps.
But will that translate to success on the field? ESPN clearly doesn’t think so, at least not spectacular success. I’m sure most Dallas Cowboys fans have seen this by now, but ESPN released a ranking listing Dak Prescott as a “Tier 3” quarterback.
In fact, according to ESPN’s very own statistic, Total Quarterback Rating, Prescott ranked third last season — overall. He was only beat out by the two Super Bowl quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Matt Ryan. If you prefer passer rating instead, the narrative is exactly the same.
Regardless, unless Prescott has a huge dropoff next season, we should expect to see him in the top-five again next season. Prescott will be able to silence his doubters further by performing without Ezekiel Elliott on the field.
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Anyway you put it, Prescott is not a third tier quarterback in the NFL. If he continues improving as he did last year and over the offseason, Dak Prescott should be an elite NFL quarterback next season. Easily top 10, and likely top five.