Dak Prescott: What’s QB’s Biggest ‘Red Flag’ for Cowboys?

A new analysis listed one factor as the biggest weakness for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

There's little debate about whether Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys is a top-half-of-the-league quarterback. But reasonable minds have disagreed on where he fits between Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings and others in terms of just how much would have to go right for him to win a Super Bowl. 

To that end, Pro Football Focus recently broke down what the biggest weakness for each NFC quarterback is ahead of this season. For Prescott, PFF said that his red flag is "dependency." 

"All quarterbacks are dependent to a degree on their environment and supporting cast," PFF wrote. "Since entering the league in 2016, Prescott has seemed to be unusually sensitive to changes in those external factors. When things around him are great, Prescott is capable of leading one of the best offenses in the game and playing like a top-10, and arguably top-five, passer. When something happens to that supporting cast — say, trading away Amari Cooper — Prescott's performance tends to immediately and significantly change." 

There's no question that Prescott had a relatively disappointing 2022 season, finishing in a tie with Davis Mills of the Houston Texans for the league-lead with 15 interceptions a season ago. Mind you, Prescott was limited to only 12 games last season, and Mills is on the verge of no longer being a starting quarterback in the NFL with Houston’s drafting of CJ Stroud.

At the same time, Prescott had quite a few tipped interceptions a season ago, partially due to the fact that the Cowboys traded the aforementioned Cooper and didn't really replace him. Sure, CeeDee Lamb had 1,359 receiving yards in 2022, but Prescott was limited in the options he had to throw to outside of Lamb. With the addition of Brandin Cooks via trade and Michael Gallup perhaps closer to 100 percent after tearing his left ACL late in the 2021 season, Prescott should have more weapons at his disposal this season. 

So there's probably a nuanced answer to where Prescott fits in between Mahomes and whomever. Is he someone that's going to be at the forefront of erasing 10+ point leads in playoff games like Mahomes is? Maybe not. Does he need as much to go right for him to win a championship as a lesser QB would? No. 

Some argue Prescott isn't a top-five quarterback, but to emerge from the NFC -- where Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles is probably the only player universally rated among the top 10 players at his position -- perhaps he doesn't need to be. Maybe Prescott leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl appearance in an NFC that looks pretty weak compared to the AFC would be another example of him being dependent on things to fall a certain way to have success. But at a certain point, who cares? 

You can follow Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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