Henry McKenna
NFL Reporter
No one seems to fear — or even respect — Dak Prescott anymore.
An anonymous player poll slotted him as QB15 and the 79th-best player in the league in the “NFL Top 100” list. Our FOX Sports NFL staff left him off our top 10 quarterbacks list. Even if there’s some measure of respect for the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, there’s definitely not a lot of love.
Those lists, however, may be underrating one of the league’s best pocket quarterbacks.
So, I’m here to remind you what Prescott can do, even at age 32 and coming off a hamstring injury that ended his 2024 season in Week 9. Just two years ago, he finished second in MVP voting behind Lamar Jackson. That season, which concluded just 20 months ago, Prescott threw for 4,516 yards, 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a pair of rushing touchdowns to boot. But this year, no one is ranking him anywhere near the top of the heap.
“I don’t think I’ve ever really cared about a list,” Prescott said at the beginning of training camp. “I was, what, the ninth or so [quarterback taken in the 2016 draft]. The list changes every person you ask. The list changes every year. With injuries, it should change. With young, new players coming in, the list is going to change. It’s not something I ever give weight to.”
Whether he cares about the rankings or not, Prescott can crack the top 10 in 2025.
Just like in 2023, Prescott will have a stacked supporting cast on offense. He’ll have CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens — comparable to the 2023 group that featured Lamb and Amari Cooper. Lamb and Pickens might be the most talented receiving duo in the NFL, but their performance will depend on Pickens’ compliance after he earned a reputation as mercurial in Pittsburgh. But so far, the change of scenery has worked for the young wideout.
“I’m very excited,” Lamb said this week when asked about playing with Pickens. “I can’t even put it into words.”
The question is how much more Prescott, new head coach Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys can get out of Pickens, who played with QBs Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in 2024 and Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky in 2023. On first glance at those names, there should be plenty of meat left on the bone for Pickens’ production. But he will have to fall in line as the team’s second option in the passing game, as opposed to in Pittsburgh, where he had been WR1 for the past two years.
“[Pickens] made it easy, man,” Prescott said. “He’s a guy that gets open, big target, runs hard, plays like a team player. So whether it’s the run [blocking] or not, he’s doing his job. And it’s been easy, and it’s only gotten better and better and better. It’s really because of the player he is, and the buy-in that he’s had into this offense.”
Beyond the receivers, tight end Jake Ferguson has an outstanding rapport with Prescott. And while there are some questions about who will run the football (likely Javonte Williams to start), there also could be some resolution on the offensive line with left tackle Tyler Guyton returning from injury and first-round rookie Tyler Booker helping in the interior. Youth and potential don’t always bring improvement to an offensive line, but the Cowboys are at least invested in it.
There are other pressurizing factors besides the offensive line. There’s also Prescott’s contract. He leads the NFL in average annual value: $60 million per year. It’s been that way for over a year, even with a handful of QBs (including Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes) getting new deals. Has Prescott lived up to his contract? Can he? Is he overpaid? Those are the type of questions that put extra pressure on the quarterback who’s already under scrutiny as the centerpiece of America’s Team.
Offensively, Prescott appears set up to have one of the best seasons of his career, even as he returns from his hamstring injury. Certainly, he hasn’t let the injury lower his expectations for the upcoming year.
“Having fun and winning the Super Bowl. Period. It’s what I want,” Prescott told reporters during training camp. “It’s what everyone wants in this locker room. … That’s what’s on my mind. Ten [years] in and ready to play another 10. But I want that first and foremost. Now. And that is the urgency that I carry.”
Urgency is good. Goals should be high. Prescott’s goals, though, are likely too high.
What is likely to hold the Cowboys back from achieving their Super Bowl aspirations is also what will thrust Prescott to the top of the NFL’s passing statistical categories.
It’s the Dallas defense.
Look at what Joe Burrow did last year. His production didn’t just come from a tremendous supporting cast on offense, featuring Pro Bowl receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. It’s also that the Bengals’ defense was atrocious, and Burrow had to throw for what felt like 500 yards per game.
Prescott might have to do the same thing. You’ve probably heard: The Cowboys traded Micah Parsons, one of the best defensive players in the league, to Green Bay for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. The trade came after a protracted contract dispute with Jerry Jones.
“It’s just good to be past it,” Prescott said. “And as I said, both parties are happy.”
It doesn’t exactly sound like Prescott misses Parsons — not yet at least.
But if a Super Bowl is truly Prescott’s goal, there will be some difficult shootouts where the QB wishes he had Parsons on the field. After all, the Cowboys were one of the league’s worst defenses last year when they didn’t have Parsons. Much like Burrow had to contend with his defense last year, Prescott might find himself chasing the opposing offense this season.
I know that Jerry Jones has created mess after mess during the offseason. I know that the Cowboys are a soap opera. And I know that they won’t be as good with Clark over Parsons.
Despite all that — and, in some measure, because of all that — Prescott is due for a huge year. And if that happens, he’ll be right back on the top-10 lists.
Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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