Dallas Cowboys: 5 Moves that must be made to improve in 2021

1. Extend the franchise QB

The No. 1 thing the Dallas Cowboys need to do in order to improve in 2021 feels so obvious that it almost doesn’t need to be said. Then again, the situation with Dak Prescott has become so murky thanks to the Jones family not seeing the obvious, that it apparently does need to be mentioned.

For Dallas to improve in 2021 and beyond, they need to pay their quarterback. Gone are the days where we can all act as though Dak Prescott is not an elite playmaker because he is. While he’s not a Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, he is a player who can compete with any team — and as we saw in 2020, without him, this franchise is an absolute dumpster fire.

Sure, Dallas was struggling while Prescott was playing this season but that was all on their defense. They were 1-3 in the first four games but the Cowboys surrendered 39 to the Atlanta Falcons, 38 to the Seattle Seahawks, and 49 to the Cleveland Browns. Even in the game where he was hurt and Dallas beat the Giants, their defense gave up 34 to the struggling G-Men.

Simply put, Prescott was carrying this team on his back and had an insane 1,856 yards and nine touchdowns in four and a half games. With him out, they struggled to gain a first down and their receiving corps of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb was largely ineffective.

Now that the 2020

dumpster fire

season is over, the Cowboys need to make sure they lock up Prescott. They continued to kick the can down the road and all that has done is fractured their relationship with the face of their franchise while driving up his asking price. On top of that, Prescott’s leverage is insane now that the team has seen what life is like without No. 4.

That makes this one a no-brainer and the No. 1 move they need to make to improve in 2021.