Dak Prescott: Draft anomaly, or a reason teams need to re-evaluate how they scout QB's

[pansophy]

It amazes me how much stock is put into not taking a direct snap from under center. These are highly skilled athletes...I have no doubt they can learn something so basic.

It's about the footwork that goes with that and having your footwork lead into your reads, throws, and accuracy. It is a big deal and there is a reason that Dak is in shotgun so much -- he doesn't have good footwork.

 

[ThreeandOut]

Considering how little the Cowboys paid for Prescott and Collins, their draft strategy next year should involve scouring the police blotters in SEC country looking for a Defensive End.

Surely there has to be a Cowboys fan in the College Station PD.

 

[reddyuta]

I didn't want him at all.I thought he didn't have the arm strength or mechanics to be a franchise QB and to me drafting a QB was all about Romos replacement and not a career backup QB.Dak has already proven me wrong completely on 2 counts, hope he can be our starter for the next decade.

 

[gimmesix]

During draft season Prescott was a somewhat maligned prospect around here. Too raw mechanicaly and played in college offense that doesnt translate to the pro. Pro scouts seemed to be in some agreement with us as he slid all the way to comp 4th territory in the draft.

However even amoung his detractors, Dak was known to be a self starter, poised, intelligent, strong leader with all the physical abilities needed to be an NFL starter.

Going forward is Prescotts early success going to have teams look more towards the latter traits and be willing to overlook improveable deficiencies. Considering that the learning curve may not be as steep as once thought for someone who has a strong mental make up?

Didn't happen after Russell Wilson was drafted so I don't see it happening after Prescott. Quarterback is a tough position to draft so teams are going to continue to look more for players like JaMarcus Russell and Jameis Winston than they are ones like like Wilson and Prescott.

 

[Gabe]

I see a lot of McNabb, Steve McNair, Warren Moon and Russell Wilson comparisons for Dak. Having followed him extremely closely for 5+ years, I would most closely match his abilities with Tom Brady. The big upside with Dak though is his ability to run and be physical when needed. Not to mention all the intangibles he has ALWAYS brought to the table.

I remember very clearly his first SEC game at Auburn in 2013. The moment he stepped on the field you could see the entire team elevate their play tremendously. He has that effect on other players. Auburn had an extremely physical defense and Dak pretty much dominated them physically all night long.

His entire career, I have not seen him involved in one single game where I thought we had no chance to win. I also see the exact same thing with the Cowboys now.

For anyone surprised at him... It is because you didn't know who he was. Now it is becoming extremely clear.

 

[Dundalis]

The fact that the reports remain on how poorly Dak trains, tells you all you need to know about the state of his footwork. The footwork itself might not be difficult to execute in isolation with some practice. Doing it while processing 10 things in your brain at the same time is the difficult part. For that it has to be second nature, where you don't need to think about it. That needs significant reps. No doubt he still has a long way to go there.

 

[tyke1doe]

During draft season Prescott was a somewhat maligned prospect around here. Too raw mechanicaly and played in college offense that doesnt translate to the pro. Pro scouts seemed to be in some agreement with us as he slid all the way to comp 4th territory in the draft.

However even amoung his detractors, Dak was known to be a self starter, poised, intelligent, strong leader with all the physical abilities needed to be an NFL starter.

Going forward is Prescotts early success going to have teams look more towards the latter traits and be willing to overlook improveable deficiencies. Considering that the learning curve may not be as steep as once thought for someone who has a strong mental make up?

No. Dak's success isn't going to lead to any major changes.

The draft is about value and following the pack mentality.

Value in that if most people rate Dak a fourth rounder, it would be silly to pick him in the first round even if you think his abilities warrant a first-round pick. It's called picking for value. You wouldn't buy a comic book appraised at $10,000 for $100,000 even if you figured in a couple of years it would be that valuable.

Pack mentality in that teams tend to know how players are ranked. As such, unless you have a Bill Walsh who trusts his eye for talent and who has been successful finding gems, teams aren't going to venture from the general consensus about players.

 

[tyke1doe]

I don't follow the NCAA very much other than when the NFL season is over and I see what the cowboys have a shot at, but are there college QBs that were leaders and showed poise like Dak but ended up busting under NFL pressure? I feel like poise would be one of the things I look for. If a guy has all the tools but looks shaky when it counts, then I would rather not touch. I guess Manziel always showed poise and confidence but couldn't back it up for the Browns...

Manziel didn't have the measurables Dak has. And he wasn't really a system quarterback. He was a freelancer, which worked great in college but not in the NFL because of the overall speed on defenses.

And, of course, there's his "off-the-field" issues.

 

[Section446]

I don't think that he's an anomaly at all, there was a time that he was looked upon as a fringe first round pick, and he may have gone a round or two sooner without the legal issue. He's just a good player that's extremely mature for a guy his age.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

The fact that the reports remain on how poorly Dak trains, tells you all you need to know about the state of his footwork. The footwork itself might not be difficult to execute in isolation with some practice. Doing it while processing 10 things in your brain at the same time is the difficult part. For that it has to be second nature, where you don't need to think about it. That needs significant reps. No doubt he still has a long way to go there.

Can you post some links to those reports?

 

[tyke1doe]

I evaluated him as number 1 over all. Please disregard this post after his first bad game. In that case I had him undrafted.

 

[tyke1doe]

It's not the Alabama's and LSU's that are producing the best NFL QBs from the SEC. The best SEC QB's come from places like Ole Miss (Eli) and Vanderbilt (Cutler). There's something to be said for QB's that routinely play and excel against more talented teams.

Add Matt Stafford (Georgia), Cam Newton (Auburn), and Peyton Manning (Tennessee).

 

[NickZepp]

I don't follow the NCAA very much other than when the NFL season is over and I see what the cowboys have a shot at, but are there college QBs that were leaders and showed poise like Dak but ended up busting under NFL pressure? I feel like poise would be one of the things I look for. If a guy has all the tools but looks shaky when it counts, then I would rather not touch. I guess Manziel always showed poise and confidence but couldn't back it up for the Browns...

Manziel was just athletic and good arm. Not really poised per say. I knew he was an NFL bust day one. Too many red flags out of college.

 

[benson]

The guy has two good games and people want to start crowning him the next Brady. So many QB's are capable of having good games in this league. Look at the season Foles had a few years ago, look at the game Sam Bradford just had, Matt Ryan was going to be the next Dan Marino and look at him? No one is going to re-evaluate anything because of Dak. Dak is playing good football in one of the most complete offensive units in the game. I love Dak as much as any fan and I'm pulling for him to be the future, but at this point him panning out to be absolutely nothing but a good backup is much, much more likely than him becoming a QB that forces scouts need to re-evaluate how they evaluate QB talent.

 

[Boom]

One of the things I overlooked about him was that he came from the SEC and played against some of the best teams in the country......and was pretty successful. He somehow got his team to a #1 ranking, even if it was for only a week or so.

To go on the road against the Alabama's and LSU's of the world and have pretty good success is bound to build the mental toughness and maturity required to succeed at the next level.

It's easy to win games if you are the QB at Alabama or LSU. Very tough to play QB against them. Prescott cut his teeth playing against premium competition. And it's helping him today.

Miss State was ranked #1 for 5 weeks. I had my doubts about him and his pocket presence, but the coaches always spoke very highly of his ability to process things during a play. I'm loving this progress.

 

[Primetime42]

I dont think people are going to start ignoring substance abuse/arrest flags.

I don't think that played nearly as big a role as people say it did.

 

[okstateCowboy]

Didn't happen after Russell Wilson was drafted so I don't see it happening after Prescott. Quarterback is a tough position to draft so teams are going to continue to look more for players like JaMarcus Russell and Jameis Winston than they are ones like like Wilson and Prescott.

Are you grouping Winston with Russell? Winston made the pro bowl as a rookie

 

[NorthTexan95]

When you watch tape of him in college he doesn't look like the same quarterback at all. I was kinda shocked by what I saw against the Rams in the first preseason game. In college he had a lot of inaccuracy. I wasn't real high on him in the draft but I had him higher than the 8th quarterback and definitely above Connor Cook. One thing that did stand out in college is his ability to handle pressure. There were games against LSU where he seemed to get hit every play yet he still played well and never gave up. Much like Tony Romo did early in his career, Dak has put in a lot of work and it is paying off.

 

[Jarv]

I knew nothing about him until a few months before the draft, never even saw tape on him until after he was drafted. Glad they didn't count on me for an evaluation.

 

[AbeBeta]

I see a lot of McNabb, Steve McNair, Warren Moon and Russell Wilson comparisons for Dak. Having followed him extremely closely for 5+ years, I would most closely match his abilities with Tom Brady. The big upside with Dak though is his ability to run and be physical when needed. Not to mention all the intangibles he has ALWAYS brought to the table.

I remember very clearly his first SEC game at Auburn in 2013. The moment he stepped on the field you could see the entire team elevate their play tremendously. He has that effect on other players. Auburn had an extremely physical defense and Dak pretty much dominated them physically all night long.

His entire career, I have not seen him involved in one single game where I thought we had no chance to win. I also see the exact same thing with the Cowboys now.

For anyone surprised at him... It is because you didn't know who he was. Now it is becoming extremely clear.

Gee, I wonder why.