The biggest news Dak Prescott has made this offseason was his DUI arrest, but there’s also the draft coming up, and the Mississippi State star has a lot of teams interested in him. The full list keeps getting updated, but those who have had a look include the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals.
All these teams have either had him over for visits or seen him workout. The Broncos have shown the most serious approach to Prescott, who might even be reach in the second round, but it’s not surprising considering how bad things have turned out for them at quarterback only two months after winning the Super Bowl with Peyton Manning starting and Brock Osweiler backing him up. Even if he is picked in the second or third round (could he fall to fourth too?), it’s hard to believe they have starting QB plans for him this season.
And that makes sense. He broke almost every possible record during his time with the Bulldogs and was a two-time first team All-SEC pick. He led the team in both rushing and passing on his final two seasons, scoring 37 rushing touchdowns on his last three seasons and completing 66.2% of his passes while throwing 29 touchdowns and only five interceptions his senior year. However, there’s more to Prescott, good and bad, than numbers.
He’s a big quarterback who is very difficult to take down. He has a pretty strong, above average in strength arm and overall is growing in terms of vision, understanding the development of plays and working inside the pocket. But his footwork and mechanics, like a lot of dual threat quarterbacks, need a lot of work. It doesn’t look like a dead-end kind of scenario which is keeping teams interested, but everyone is pretty confident it’ll take two or three years to make Prescott into a starting-level quarterback, maybe.
But starting quarterbacks don’t always get the job right away. Some players do better without the pressure and spotlight on them to develop slowly. Look at Aaron Rodgers now. Look at Tyrod Taylor last season, although one year might not be big enough of an indication. Prescott, despite the DUI worry, should be taken in the third or fourth round. He might be used early in some short yardage packages, and take it from there. There’s something in him that suggests he could make it in the league, and not just as a backup.