By: Jake Rajala

It was clear that the Germans Dallas Cowboys fans weren’t singing for Dak Prescott in Titletown. In Week 10 – Prescott unveiled three passing touchdowns, but he also tossed two interceptions. Most, unfortunately, he lost to a Green Bay Packers team that was 3-6 yesterday morning. The ultra Cowboys fan Skip Bayless expressed his distaste for Prescott’s services with his following tweet:

It would be an understatement to say that Prescott is underperforming & I believe it’s worrisome that his trajectory took a nosedive in 2022 after throwing 37 touchdowns & 4,449 passing yards a season ago. In the year that Avatar 2 hits IMAX theaters, the Boys QB1 has merely thrown six touchdowns to four interceptions in six contests. It should also be stated that his QBR of 85.9 this season is a personal low and it’s even worse than the QBR of Matt Ryan, Justin Fields, and Andy Dalton. Yes, you read that correctly.

In the grand scheme of things, I believe that Prescott’s ceiling is significantly less sexy at this point. The mere two-time Pro Bowler will likely miss Tyron Smith (who has missed 30 games since the start of 2020) and Ezekiel Elliot in the next couple of seasons. It must be said that Prescott has struggled without Smith at this point — showing that LT Tyler Smith (Smith’s replacement) has given up four sacks, garnered seven penalties, and registered a lousy 63.4 grade by PFF. It’s transparent that Smith doesn’t possess the same abilities as Smith, who still had a monstrous 91.4 PFF grade in his 11 games in 2021. Furthermore, The Boys field general isn’t only struggling, but he is also unable to maximize the talent from the bowling ball in Zeke in the remaining days of his time in the building. Smith and Zeke aren’t exactly washed up, but their age & contract will make it quite difficult for Jerry Jones to retain their services.

I foresee Prescott keeping the keys to the Boys starting offense this season. Although, if the 29-year-old Cowboys QB struggles in the back end of this season, it wouldn’t be a massive surprise if Jerry Jones aims to trade away Dak in the 2023 off-season. Jerry may be tempted to create a young, formidable QB-RB-WR trio (while he already has a gem at WR in Ceedee Lamb).

It couldn’t feel more like nails on a chalkboard that Philly is 8-0 and led out by Jalen Hurts, who is unequivocally a Top-3 MVP candidate. The Boys need to find a way to re-discover NFC East prominence in the future & it will be paramount that they can retrieve their own top-end firepower from their QB spot — whether it means witnessing a bounce-back effort from Prescott or finding a new face at their beloved QB spot.

The post Is Dak Prescott overrated? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The Cowboys had a pretty rough year last year with Dak Prescott getting injured, ending up with a 6-10 record and finishing third in the NFC East (tied for 2^nd).  With that said, their woes were not solely on the back of the loss of Dak, as their secondary was lacking the whole year and really did not improve at any point.  After Dak’s massive extension this offseason to lock him in place with Dallas for four more years, his performance will likely be on the minds of all NFL fans.

In this article, I will be going over whether or not the Cowboys will make the playoffs this year, as well as what factors can contribute to them making it or not.

The Return of Dak 

To start where we left off, the whole Dak Prescott situation.  After a gruesome end to his 2020 campaign with an ankle injury that many such as myself do not want to re-witness, Dak has been working out to get back into NFL form.  With that said, we really have absolutely no idea what we will be looking at with his return.  After such a horrid injury to his lower half, his mobility may be diminished at least slightly which could hamper his capabilities.

Despite that, even if he were to just sit in the pocket, their offensive line has some great protection for Dak.  As long as he is able to move around a bit still and hurl the ball downfield, his production will likely not take a huge hit.  The hope for Cowboys fans however would likely be to see him revert to full form without hinderance, I just do not think it is feasible to say that will happen as of yet.

Defensive Improvements

I mean this is probably the most impressive stats coming out of the offseason for Dallas.  They had eleven draft picks total to use in 2021, they came out of the draft with eight defensive players and only three offensive players.  That shows some true commitment by the front office to fix the unit that was their Achilles heel all season.  

One of the most prominent holes they needed to fill was cornerback, which they did fill with Kelvin Joseph, who could definitely find himself in a CB2 role with some development.  With Trevon Diggs getting another year of development as well, he could look to improve into the CB1 role with a leap.  They also brought in two more CBs, in Nahshon Wright and Israel Mukuamu, who should look to fill any depth needs at the position.

The Cowboys also addressed the front seven, bringing in:

• LB Micah Parsons
• DL Osa Odighizuwa
• EDGE Chauncey Golston
• LB Jabril Cox
• DL Quinton Bohanna

Overall, these improvements should at the very least bring Dallas to the middle of the pack in defense, if not higher up.

Conclusion

With the Cowboys biggest issue fixed to an extent that should hold, and the return of a potentially (depending on injury healing) elite quarterback, the Cowboys should definitely be aiming for at the very least a wild card appearance.  In best case scenario they could find themselves in a deep playoff run, but that remains to be seen with all the question marks developing.

The post Are the Cowboys a playoff contender with a healthy Dak Prescott? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Taylor Ford

Dakota Rain Prescott is obviously valuable to his franchise and to fantasy owners. Furthermore, he is the most valuable and indispensable player in the league. Here are three reasons why–

No one does it like Dak

Dak was having yet another amazing season in the stat column before he got injured in 2020. With all the weapons that Dallas has on offense, you would assume another quarterback would at least do decent. Well, three others tried and failed. Not a single another quarterback on the roster could seem to get anywhere near the production Dak puts up. Therefore, his value went through the roof. Cowboy fans finally got to see what their team would look like without a guy like him under center. Even though Dak had a Gruesome injury, The Cowboy’s organization realized they had to pay the man. Without a doubt, the team is ten times better with him as the leader. Everyone in the organization loves him from the ground up, which makes him even more indispensable. The Dallas Cowboys are the biggest franchise in all of the sports because everyone watches their games, and Dak Prescott is the face of the franchise. Without Dak Prescott, the Cowboys just do not feel the same. You could see the heartbreak in the other players eyes when he got carted off the field last season. Dak ended up with 1856 yards and 9 touchdowns through only 4 and a half games. He was literally on pace to shatter the record for most yards in a single season.

The Jones Family Will take care of him

Dak got paid even after a huge injury. There was no doubt that they would sign him, but they should have done it sooner. Dak made it an emphasis to make sure the Jones’ saw his progress, as he did his rehab right outside their offices. He wanted them to know that this was his team, and he was not playing around. Either way now that he is a Cowboy for the long run, Jerry and company will continue to ensure that Dak has the resources to succeed. Will McClay is the best offensive talent scout in the business. Getting guys like Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Ceedee Lamb, Zeke, and that offensive line, does wonders for a talented quarterback like Dak. In fact, Dak has been putting up crazy number since the 2019-2020 season because of it. Last season he threw for 4902 yards and 30 touchdowns. He was rocking a 108.4 passer rating by the end of the season. The last game against Washington he put up 4 touchdowns to cap off a great season for him. He has an average completion rate of 66% on his career. Tom Brady is at 64% and Aaron Rodgers is at 65%. He is only throwing an interception on 1.7% of his pass attempts for his career. That is also better than Tom Brady at 1.8%. Dak also has a career QB rating of 97.3 which is tied with Tom Brady. Dak may not throw for as many touchdowns as the other elite quarterbacks, but he does score rushing touchdowns as well. Unfortunately, McClay has not been the best scout for defensive players, therefore, making it harder and harder for Dallas to win games.

The Fantasy Baller

Due to the lack of ability to find elite defensive players, Dallas always seems to find themselves fighting from behind on the scoreboard. Yes, they just had a defensive heavy draft, but they also had, arguably, the most questionable pick at the 99 spot. Most of the guys they draft do not tend to work out for the Cowboys on the defensive side of the ball. So, Dak finds himself accumulating some large numbers in the stat book. Until the defense shows they are worth a nickel, he remains one of the top fantasy scorers in the league. Even if they do get a good defense, Dak will only get better as a player. He will remain a solid fantasy option, but the the Dallas Cowboys will be the real winners. Not only would defense help them be real contenders, but it would only make Dak Prescott better. Getting him more opportunities, under less pressure situations to put up numbers. He could remain a top 5 option in fantasy with a good defense, but currently he has to be considered top 3, if not number one out of all quarterbacks. The only season that he finished with a QB rating under 100.0 was his sophomore slump year. Every year after he has proven he is a top option in fantasy week-in and week-out. Dak is also a dual threat and that bodes well in the fantasy department when the player is not built like a stick. He has a huge build and still has put up over 1300 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns for his career through just 4 and 1/3 seasons. He is only going to be 28 years old when the 2021 season kicks off and has plenty of years left to run the show for America’s team.

The post Why Dak Prescott is the most Indispensable player in the league appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Ryan Bigelow (Twitter: @dynastybigz)

Dak Prescott is going to be a popular name this offseason. After signing the franchise tag this past summer he suffered an unfortunate season-ending ankle injury in Week 5 and now finds himself without a contract.

Will Dallas resign Dak? Will they throw another franchise tag on him? Or is his time in Dallas over? And what does all of this mean for his fantasy value? Let’s take a look.

Dak Season Finishes 

2016- QB6 (286.88), 10th in PPG (17.93)

2017- QB11 (260.7), 14th in PPG (16.29)

2018- QB10 (285.86), 13th in PPG (17.87)

2019- QB2 (348.78), 3rd in PPG (21.80)

2020- QB33 (138.64), 1st in PPG (27.73)

Prior to this season, Dak has never missed a start, playing all 16 games in the first four years of his career. In all four seasons, he was a Top 12 fantasy QB, even in his first season when he “stole” the job from Romo as a 4th round rookie. 

Dak is currently tied for the seventh-highest passer rating in a career at 97.3. The player he’s tied with? Most people call him the greatest QB of all time, Tom Brady.

How many QBs can make this throw? A handful at most? Dak is a special QB that is consistently undervalued (because he was a fourth-round pick or because he’s on the Cowboys?) regardless of what he shows. Every single Cowboys loss gets blamed on him and that’s why there is such a negative persona surrounding Dak typically. Until this past offseason, he never got close to the respect he deserved, and then after his injury, he went right back to being disrespected by most. 

Dak can attack you on any level, whether he’s throwing a short out or a streak he will get the ball where it needs to be.

2019 season

16 Games Played

388 Completions on 596 Attempts(65.1%)

4902 Passing Yards

30 Passing TD’s

11 Interceptions

99.7 QB Rating

72.8 QBR

52 Rushing Attempts for 277 Yards and 3 Rushing Touchdowns

Fantasy QB2 on the season(348.78 total points)

3rd in Fantasy PPG for all QB’s(21.8ppg)

2019, the season Dak got the respect he deserved. Kellen Moore was promoted from QB Coach to Offensive Coordinator. In his two seasons with Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator, Dak has shown that he is a top 5 QB, his mechanics continue to improve only making him a more accurate passer. The Cowboys ran more play-action in this season than they did in any of Dak’s previous seasons and it definitely made the game easier for Dak. Dak earned the 2nd most wins above replacement of any QB in the 2019 season. 

It’s not talked about enough but Dak also contributes to a very safe rushing floor, at least 270 rushing yards in each of his first 4 seasons with a total of 21 rushing touchdowns. 

After coming off his best season in the league the Dallas Cowboys used their first round pick to select the best WR in the NFL Draft (sorry JJ fans), CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys also moved on from Jason Garrett who didn’t do Dak any favors and brought in Mike McCarthy. 

2020 season

5 Games Played

151 Completions on 222 Attempts(68%)

1856 Passing Yards

9 Passing Touchdowns

4 Interceptions

99.6 QB Rating

78.4 QBR

18 Rushing Attempts for 93 Yards and 3 Rushing Touchdowns

Fantasy QB33 on the season(138.64 total points)

1st In Fantasy PPG for all QB’s(27.73ppg)

Before getting injured Dak was on pace to easily finish as the fantasy QB1 this season while projecting to throw for over 5500 yards and nearly 40 total touchdowns. While it is a small sample size this year I think there’s a high chance he would have finished with those similar numbers. Having Lamb, Amari, Gallup, and Zeke at his disposal is just unfair, any decent QB could put up good fantasy numbers but Dak has shown elite traits in the pocket.

We saw how bad the Cowboys collapsed when Dak went out. Yes I know they were only 2-3 on the season in his 5 starts but when he went out the whole offense basically shut down. Over the first 5 weeks of the season when Dak was healthy Zeke had 4 games with over 20 fantasy points, he didn’t have one of those the rest of the season without him. The main difference was Zeke was seeing the same passing volume he did with Dak (30 targets first 4 games, 41 targets last 11 games). The same goes for many of the offensive weapons on the team.

Dak makes everyone around him better

As you can tell Dak was going off the first 5 games of the season, he played less than 70% of the snaps the week he got hurt but still averaged over 370 passing yards during the span. But that doesn’t show you how much better he makes other players look. During Dak’s 5 games CeeDee Lamb scored 39.7% of his season total fantasy points, Amari scored 37.7%, and Zeke scored a whopping 49.5% of his season total during those first 5 games(31.25% would be average). Kinda went off track here since this is more of a reason to buy other Cowboys(you should) but Dak is the one that makes it all happen. 

Future Outlook

Don’t worry the Cowboys are going to do what needs to be done to keep Dak in Dallas. I expect them to come to a long term extension with Dak so they don’t have to worry about any of this again. The Cowboys would have been in the playoffs if Dak didn’t go down and they should be in the position to make playoffs again next season. Jerry Jones recently said he knows Dak has all the leverage and I’m here for it, give Dak exactly what he wants.

Dak’s injury doesn’t worry me at all for his future. This is the first time he ever missed time due to injury throughout his entire football career(other than a sprained elbow in college). It was a devastating injury but it won’t derail his career, he will be back and I expect him to pick up right where he left off. 

With that being said Dak is a buy/hold right now for me. Hopefully, you were able to trade for him during the season when you could really take advantage of the injury discount but I would still reach out to the Dak owner in all of your leagues and try to get a feel on how they view him.

If they don’t view him as a top 3-5 QB (before 2021 rookies come in) see if you can trade an older/worse QB (like Goff, Stafford, Ryan) and a future 1 with some sweeteners on top for him. Of course, some Dak owners will value him properly, in that case, he’s probably not worth buying unless you have enough extra bench assets that it won’t ruin your starting lineup.

Dak is my QB2 only behind Mahomes, Josh Allen and Kyler Murray are for sure right on his ass but for now if/when Dak stays in Dallas he will finish as a Top 3 QB for multiple seasons with the potential at QB1 overall multiple times. If he plays 16 games for Dallas in 2021 he will be the QB1. 

The post Dak Prescott: Dynasty Outlook appeared first on Pro Football Mania.