Will Dallas Cowboys Shock Draft With Early QB Pick? What Empty 2025 Depth Chart Says

Will Dallas Cowboys Shock Draft With Early QB Pick? What Empty 2025 Depth Chart Says

Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Washington quarterback Michael Penix (QB08) during the 2024 NFL / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

If the Dallas Cowboys stay true to their current plan, which is unpredictable itself right now, no quarterbacks will be given new contracts heading into next season. Not only will Dak Prescott enter free agency testing his market to many quarterback-needy franchises, but so will his backups in Cooper Rush and former 2021 No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance and his guaranteed-to-be-declined $22.4 million fifth-year team option.

So, what’s the plan for Jerry Jones and Co. for 2025 and beyond at the most important position in professional sports? Reading the tea leaves, it’s fair to speculate whether drafting a quarterback, potentially early, is a realistic option for the Cowboys.

Drafting a new signal-caller sometime on the first two days would certainly make headlines for Dallas. It might be for all the right reasons, though, when looking at this situation more from a long-term lens.

It would be a true stunner to witness Dallas move up for any of the top-tier signal-callers for this year’s class — Caleb Williams (USC), Jayden Daniels (LSU), Drake Maye (North Carolina), JJ McCarthy (Michigan) — but what about after those prospects?

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9). / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Washington’s Michael Penix and Oregon’s Bo Nix are both projected to go anywhere between the mid-first to mid-second round, depending on which scouting services you trust most. When diving deeper into Penix’s profile, his leadership and arm talent jump off the page as a potential starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL. Nix’s profile is a little more erratic, especially when seeing how the basis of Oregon’s attack was built around their signal-caller not making many advanced reads.

Another intriguing prospect, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, is projected to be drafted anywhere from the third or fourth round. A few years ago, Rattler’s arm talent and traits brought immense hype, but inconsistencies have pushed him way down the board more into being a realistic draft target for the Cowboys. For the 24-year-old Rattler, don’t be surprised if he’s in play for Dallas if he somehow slips into Day 3.

Whether it be to outright replace Prescott, or bring in more competition at the backup spot, quarterback is a serious question in the right now for the Cowboys. Originally acquiring Lance from the San Francisco 49ers as their own QB lottery ticket spoke volumes of what they thought long-term anyways.

How they’ve gotten themselves into this situation is dumbfounding, but one they will have to figure out by 2025.

In order to bring some stability, it would be wise Dallas takes a shot at some point on a quarterback prospect in this year’s draft. Even though it would potentially ruffle some feathers internally, maybe Dallas should take an aggressive flyer on a prospect. If they fall in love with someone, go move up the board to get someone to become Prescott’s replacement or his high-end backup.