Dallas Cowboys: Predicting a comeback for Dak Prescott in 2018

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 19: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium on November 19, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 19: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium on November 19, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS – SEPTEMBER 15: Wide receiver Terrell Owens #81 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter at Texas Stadium on September 15, 2008 in Irving, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS – SEPTEMBER 15: Wide receiver Terrell Owens #81 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter at Texas Stadium on September 15, 2008 in Irving, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Now, we don’t know what circumstances Dak Prescott will face entering his third season with the Cowboys. It’s possible that Prescott has to rely on a different primary wide receiver in the event that the Cowboys part ways with Dez Bryant – Romo had the same issue with Owens’ departure after ’08.

What we do know is that Prescott will have a roster that gets better. The Cowboys have the 19th overall selection of the ’18 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium in April and that obviously beats having no selections before the third round. So long as Elliott keeps his nose clean during the offseason, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be ready for another 1,000-yard rushing performance. That young defensive secondary will have grown up quite a bit and perhaps free agency will see at least the retaining of DeMarcus Lawrence.

Inaugural Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry, the very legend this website is named for, was famous for saying that an NFL player doesn’t become truly defined until his third year in the NFL. While some may flash before then, the learning curve, especially for quarterbacks, comes with some lumps and it doesn’t matter how good or bad his team is.

Some are already clamoring for the Cowboys to select another quarterback in a player selection gathering that’s loaded at the position. While I’m not opposed to that idea, I certainly wouldn’t want to do that early on, especially with a somewhat promising prospect like Cooper Rush already with a one year and a good-looking ’17 training camp already under his belt.

It’s true that ’18 will go a long ways towards defining just how committed the Dallas Cowboys are to Dak Prescott. He still has a couple of years left on his rookie contract and there’s not much time left in order to figure out whether or not a long-term extension is forthcoming.

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But as Romo proved less than a decade ago, third-year success could definitely come to pass in a modern day NFL where consistent success only happens if you play in a doormat division and commit repeated scandals that compromise competitive balance – I won’t mention names, but you can do the math.

Welcome to the position of quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.