Dak Prescott ranked among top QB’s in the league

Training camp is off and running for the Dallas Cowboys and the anticipated return of quarterback Dak Prescott has been everything the team could have wanted. Despite him having to miss a couple throwing sessions for arm soreness, there appears to be no ill effects from the ankle injury that cost Prescott the final 10.5 games of the 2020 season.

That’s outstanding news for a team that relies on Prescott as a player, and as a leader in the locker room. As the organization saw firsthand last year, the Cowboys weren’t the same without Prescott in 2020 and finally inked their stud QB to a lucrative long-term contract. While most Cowboys fans know how good Prescott is and applauded the deal, there were some who still deny his brilliance.

For astute observers, Prescott is one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the league, and he continues to get better each year. The naysayers and haters debate that notion, mentioning the Mississippi St. QB is only a product of the talent around him and point to fact that Prescott has yet to lead his team to a Super Bowl.

The argument rages on, with little end in sight. However, The Athletic spoke to 50 NFL coaches and talent evaluators to rank QBs into tiers, and Prescott ranks highly. The Cowboys signal caller was ranked ninth in the league, and a Tier 2 quarterback. He received one Tier 1 vote, 41 Tier 2 votes and eight Tier 3 votes. Here’s what the evaluators had to say about Prescott:

“He just quietly does his thing, and I think the biggest proof of who and what he is, is what that team was without him — it was not good,” an evaluator said.

The Cowboys ranked eighth in offensive EPA with Prescott in the lineup last season. They ranked 29th without him.

“He is a 2, a top 2,” a senior defensive coach said. “In that system, he controls everything. He is really good at the line of scrimmage. He puts them into the right plays, he can identify defenses, he has the arm talent to do it. I was impressed when we played them. When they were behind and he had to start operating at the line of scrimmage, you can see, man, that dude has something to him.”

Prescott drew a single Tier 1 vote this year and three last year. Some think he can push for more next year, ankle permitting.

“A virtue of the Tier 1 quarterback is being able to execute in a pure-pass environment,” an exec said. “His 2-minute drill is elite. He is Tier 1 in that part of the game, which for me makes him automatically high Tier 2.”

Prescott is easily the highest-graded quarterback in the NFC East after Carson Wentz’s decline and exit from Philadelphia.

“I think their coordinator (Kellen Moore) is one of the stars in the league that no one talks about,” an evaluator said. “With him putting together that offense and the weapons they have, the toolbox will be full. Dak will not have to do anything outside his body.”

There’s some high praise for Prescott, but also a glowing review of OC Kellen Moore, which might insinuate that he’s somewhat responsible for the offense’s success and not as much for Prescott. Nevertheless, being ranked as a top 10 QB by league insiders is noteworthy.

Ranked ahead of Prescott are Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, and Deshaun Watson in Tier 1, with Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Matthew Stafford ranked ahead of Prescott from Tier 2. There can be some debate over where Prescott ranks in the second tier, particularly ranking behind Stafford, but his presence inside the top 10 is warranted as one of the best QB’s in the game.

Prescott ranks well ahead of his NFC East counterparts. New York Giants QB Daniel Jones ranks 22^nd, Washington Football Team’s Ryan Fitzpatrick is 23^rd in Tier 3 and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts comes in at number 30 overall in Tier 4. The Cowboys QB also was listed much higher than former Eagles QB Carson Wentz (19th), which was always a major debate amongst the fan bases.

These rankings don’t mean much, but they can be seen as a big reason why the Cowboys might have the best shot at winning the division. The best QB usually gives you the best chance at winning, which the Cowboys have.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.

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