Dak Prescott tops league in play-action pass completions

While posting one of the best rookie seasons by a quarterback in NFL history, Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott topped the league in play-action pass completions.

The ripple effect of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott‘s incredible rookie season continues to amaze, even into the offseason.

While some predict the Cowboys instant starter will experience a sophomore slump in his second season, others are still trying to make sense of just how the fourth round selection out of Mississippi State dethroned longtime veteran quarterback Tony Romo so effortlessly last year.

Starting in all 16 games for Dallas last season, Prescott lead the Cowboys to a 13-3 record while ranking fourth in completion percentage (67.8) and third in passer rating (104.9) among his more experienced peers. His 3,667 passing yards, 29 total touchdowns and only four interceptions helped earn Dak the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Many attribute Prescott’s early success to his stellar supporting cast. Featuring the league’s leading rusher in fellow rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott, the best offensive line in the NFL and a diverse and talented receiver corps including a future Hall of Fame tight end in Jason Witten; Dak was able to handily captain a ship initially constructed for his predecessor. And the 23-year old did his job efficiently.

In fact, Prescott was the best quarterback in the NFL last season when it came to completing passes off of play-action. That according to the football analytical website Pro Football Focus.

Obviously the Cowboys threat of the run keeps opposing defensive coordinators awake at night. Especially when a dynamic player like Elliott is said threat. But let’s not sell Prescott short in this equation. Selling the fake and taking advantage of how the play-action pass impacts opposing defenses are also key to this stat.

And for those who simply brush the above analytic as a direct result of Elliott’s presence should take note of the teams on the rest of the list. Both Washington’s Kirk Cousins and Seattle’s Russell Wilson didn’t have a single running back rush for more than 705 yards last season.

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Bottom line: Dak Prescott was a very efficient rookie quarterback last season. And that was whether the Dallas Cowboys were using the play-action or not. America’s Team really did find themselves the steal of the 2016 NFL Draft.