Was Dak the best QB of the 2016 draft?

[plasticman]

We do not have the answer to that question.

Unless we can predict the future we will have to wait until their careers have ended.

However, at this point we can say that Dak was more important to the team that drafted him than Goff.

However, Goff did play in a Conference championship game which his team won. As the starter his team did get to the Super Bowl.

But then, Dak waxed him in their playoff game, not Dak's fault two Ram RB's ran for over 100 yards.

Anyway, their careers are only half over. Although Goff is now in the killings fields for quarterbacks otherwise known as Detroit, you never know about the future.

Halfway through their careers you never would have guessed that Doug Williams, Jim Plunkett and Trent Dilfer would be starting quarterbacks for Super Bowl champions.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

Sorry I didn't realize that we were subtracting each guy's best seasons.. Okay I'll play..

Subtract Wentz's 11-2 second season and he's 24-30-1 - I bow in the face of such greatness.
Subtract Goff's 13-3 third season as he's 29-24 just like Dak.. - Are we writing home about this?

Hmmm..

You may not need to write home but you are getting closer to a true average to make a better comparison based on the data.

 

[DandyDon52]

This is all just another example of how wrong draft rankings can be.
Players ranked high dont do well, players ranked low do well.

Dak is probably the best qb of that draft, as things stand right now.
more time goes by will tell about the main 3. Lynch is already a bust.

Although Dak and the other 2 have not done very good as far as playoffs go, with goff having done the best in that area.
He did get to a SB?

 

[gimmesix]

He’s been getting better every year.

I wouldn't say that since his first year was his best. He slumped to nearly average off that his second year and for the first half of his third year, before we acquired Cooper, he also was not playing at a really high level. His last two years (even though last year was only five games) have been fine, but have not approached his rookie level, when he had a 104.9 rating.

For comparison sake, his 2017 rating was 86.6, 2018 was 96.9, 2019 was 99.7 and 2020 was 99.6. Last year, there were 12 quarterbacks with a rating above 100, and we need Dak on that level. We're actually reaching low when we compare him to the quarterbacks in the 2016 draft. We should be comparing him to the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL, since that is where he needs to be.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

This is all just another example of how wrong draft rankings can be.
Players ranked high dont do well, players ranked low do well.

Dak is probably the best qb of that draft, as things stand right now.
more time goes by will tell about the main 3. Lynch is already a bust.

Although Dak and the other 2 have not done very good as far as playoffs go, with goff having done the best in that area.
He did get to a SB?

draft obviously is not a exact science, but its law of averages and probabilities (no, not a math problem). there is enough points of information about players that they can make a educated guess as to which players are better than others, specially in the first round. no, I am not saying all of first rounders succeed, but more first rounders succeed than second rounders. more top of the first half of first rounders succeed, than bottom half and so on. as you get lower in the rounds, the probability of missing information is higher. for example, they played in a particular system, can they make transition to NFL? its a guess. they played in a small school. can they play in the NFL. its a guess...and sometimes players play in a specific system, not similar to NFL, where players do have the NFL skills, but haven't been able to show case it, so they fall to lower rounds because there is less information.

generally each draft has around 16-20 players that are truly first rounders and most go in top of first round and you will find most of them succeed (and yes there are failures there too, but to lesser extent). the rest becomes more of a gamble, that's why you see a lot, a lot more first rounders at the bottom of the round fail. they all have flaws...

some positions are harder to project than others...RB is easiest. OL maybe easier as well, but WR, DEs are a little harder. and of course, QB is probably the hardest, that's why QB success is almost all over the place, although there are years/times that some really good candidates with high probability of success come out, like Lawrence, Aikman, etc.

you probably see a lot of first round QB failures, given current NFL. its a premium position and teams tend to over draft and take gambles....if not for that, most of these QBs would go in lower rounds. ala Lynch.....Geno Smith, etc......

so is it a surprise Dak fell? no. based on then information and analysis he wasn't NFL ready, but he learned, the system he played in wasn't NFL like, but he adjusted quickly. he minimized his mistakes and then he improved his game.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

True, but that team was a mess.

If he repeats that now that he is in an organization that seems to have things together then there is no saving Wentz and he is officially a lost cause.

We will find out soon enough.

It was a mess because of him though lol.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

It was a mess because of him though lol.

That's your opinion.

 

[RonnieT24]

I wouldn't say that since his first year was his best. He slumped to nearly average off that his second year and for the first half of his third year, before we acquired Cooper, he also was not playing at a really high level. His last two years (even though last year was only five games) have been fine, but have not approached his rookie level, when he had a 104.9 rating.

For comparison sake, his 2017 rating was 86.6, 2018 was 96.9, 2019 was 99.7 and 2020 was 99.6. Last year, there were 12 quarterbacks with a rating above 100, and we need Dak on that level. We're actually reaching low when we compare him to the quarterbacks in the 2016 draft. We should be comparing him to the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL, since that is where he needs to be.

I would not say Dak's rookie year was his best for the simple reason that he was asked to do far less in the offense that year as compared to what he is asked to do now. It's kinda like saying the guy who lifted 200 pounds 10 times is stronger than the guy who lifted 400 pounds 5 times because they used the same bench and the same bar. Dak has been a better QB each year since that awful second year. He was asked to do more than he was capable of that year because of the whole Zeke thing and simply was not ready. But he HAS gotten a little better every year since. A trend I fully expect to continue. However I do agree that Dak needs to get is passer rating above 100 and keep his QBR above 70 consistently to fulfill his promise and give this team what it needs. He was in the process of doing both last year before he went down so I think he will do it this year as well.

 

[CATCH17]

I would take Wentz but it’s closer than it used to be.

 

[RonnieT24]

I would take Wentz but it’s closer than it used to be.

You can have him.. I hear he's still in the league if you wanna go bask in his greatness for that other team.

 

[Rockport]

I wouldn't say that since his first year was his best. He slumped to nearly average off that his second year and for the first half of his third year, before we acquired Cooper, he also was not playing at a really high level. His last two years (even though last year was only five games) have been fine, but have not approached his rookie level, when he had a 104.9 rating.

For comparison sake, his 2017 rating was 86.6, 2018 was 96.9, 2019 was 99.7 and 2020 was 99.6. Last year, there were 12 quarterbacks with a rating above 100, and we need Dak on that level. We're actually reaching low when we compare him to the quarterbacks in the 2016 draft. We should be comparing him to the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL, since that is where he needs to be.

He’s been getting better every year and is a top 5 QB who gets no respect from many Cowboys hater fans but gets much respect from the rest of the NFL.

 

[Swagger]

Nope, it will always be about the ring. Look at Marino. The only stat people remember about him is ‘no ring.’ Great player but no ring.

I personally would give Wentz his ring for that year. He led that team to the playoffs and was playing pretty well from what I can remember.

I can guarantee you that if the roles were reversed and it was Dak who got hurt and the Cowboys went on to win, the Dak-worshippers here would count that ring. No doubt at all.

Soooooooooo true. The Dak lovers on here would bang on about how he was favourite for MVP until he got injured a few games before the play offs yet he led them to the #1 seed and rushed a TD with a torn ACL!

Haha the legend would only grow.

Hilarious actually as you have highlighted how many Skip Bayless type fans we actually have. Embarrassing

 

[NotForLong]

Of the first three QBs selected in the 2016 draft, only Dak is still with his original team, and he keeps being ranked as highly as in the top 5 of the league's quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the two guys selected before him, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, are off to restart their careers with other teams. I guess it's possible that Wentz could prove himself great in Indy or that Goff could become a force in Detroit, but we'll have to wait to see what happens. At first it looked like Wentz was going to turn out to be the best. I saw him make some amazing throws, but something seemed to happen to him. He definitely regressed.

For me the big surprise was how bad Paxton Lynch played for the Broncos. He's who I wanted the Cowboys to draft, and Jerry was trying to. After the Zeke pick, Jerry tried unsuccessfully to trade up back into the first round to get Lynch, but the Broncos beat him out. Lynch played really well in college, and the evaluators ranked him highly. He looked like the guy to me. But he's been a journeyman backup, and I'm not even sure if he's even still in the league.

You just never know, I guess. I'd like to think that Jerry got the best QB of 2016 by being a genius, but I don't think that's true. He would have rather had Paxton Lynch at the time. But the Cowboys scouting team had done their homework well enough to realize that Dak had tremendous potential and was worth chancing a 4th-round pick on him.

It's bizarre how things work out. If the talent evaluators had been spot-on, Wentz and Goff would be at the top of the league right now with Lynch very close behind, and Dak would be a capable backup somewhere. It's weird how things work out.

Do you agree, though, that by now it's a done deal? Dak was the best QB picked in the 2016 draft?

Wentz amd its mot even close. . . He will win a Ring this year

 

[TwoCentPlain]

He’s been getting better every year and is a top 5 QB who gets no respect from many Cowboys hater fans but gets much respect from the rest of the NFL.

He was 13-3 his rookie year. You say he has gotten better each year. So, why no post-season success? Why doesn’t the win-loss record show similar improvement?

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I hear you but Eli has a ways to go to take the title of luckiest athlete in the history of sports from Robert Horry who was a role player on like 5 or 6 championship teams.

Ummm...well that's close enough I got nothing.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

He was 13-3 his rookie year. You say he has gotten better each year. So, why no post-season success? Why doesn’t the win-loss record show similar improvement?

It's a "team game"....when we lose.

 

[Rockport]

He was 13-3 his rookie year. You say he has gotten better each year. So, why no post-season success? Why doesn’t the win-loss record show similar improvement?

Yes, he has but the team hasn't. It's a team sport, 11 on offense, 11 on defense and 11 on special teams. Then there is the coaching staff. This isn't golf.

 

[Diehardblues]

He’s been getting better every year and is a top 5 QB who gets no respect from many Cowboys hater fans but gets much respect from the rest of the NFL.

Most of these trolling Dak aren’t Cowboy fans.

Show me an anonymous fan from Enemy territory who most every post only bashes our QB, I’ll show you a rivalry fan posing as a Cowboy fan. Doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure it out.

 

[stiletto]

The jury is still out on MM. He's won before, but I have to question just how much that was Rodgers over his coaching abilities.

We will find out. He'll get a full off season this year, so hopefully he surprises us.

He keeps bringing in clown friends (Nolan, McAdoo). I think the firing of Nolan and hiring of Quinn was more of a FO decision. MM so far, has been a toad to me. I don't see much that he brings to the table.

 

[gimmesix]

I would not say Dak's rookie year was his best for the simple reason that he was asked to do far less in the offense that year as compared to what he is asked to do now. It's kinda like saying the guy who lifted 200 pounds 10 times is stronger than the guy who lifted 400 pounds 5 times because they used the same bench and the same bar. Dak has been a better QB each year since that awful second year. He was asked to do more than he was capable of that year because of the whole Zeke thing and simply was not ready. But he HAS gotten a little better every year since. A trend I fully expect to continue. However I do agree that Dak needs to get is passer rating above 100 and keep his QBR above 70 consistently to fulfill his promise and give this team what it needs. He was in the process of doing both last year before he went down so I think he will do it this year as well.

It's tough to measure quarterbacks on what they are asked to do instead of what they actually do. Yes, there are ways that Dak's game has changed, but he has to be judged playing within the scheme and in the role he is given. I don't see him as a better quarterback than he was his rookie year, and I think the numbers don't show that he is. A different quarterback? Yes. But not better yet.

I think once he takes the things he's developed and is able to apply them within the right scheme, he will be a better quarterback.