Dallas Cowboys: 15 greatest quarterbacks in franchise history

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. That was the case in the 2016 NFL Draft, as the Cowboys reportedly tried to make moves for Paxton Lynch and Connor Cook, but were bested by the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders for those prospects, respectively.

That led to them going for their third option in Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott. The fourth-round compensatory pick was expected to spend the first few seasons behind Tony Romo while he refined his skills. However, Prescott never got that time to groom, as Romo was injured in the preseason as was his backup Kellen Moore.

Prescott was thrown into the fire and the kid who didn’t take snaps under center in college ended up outperforming all expectations. He won 13 games as a rookie and nearly led them to a comeback in the playoffs after they fell behind 21-3 in the playoffs to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional round at home.

During that season, he was named the starter over Romo and has done nothing but win. During his first three seasons, he was 32-16 and won the NFC East title two times.

Some detractors give the credit to the offensive line and running back Ezekiel Elliott, but the fact is Prescott is already fifth all-time in passing yards in Cowboys history and sixth in touchdowns through the 2020 regular season. On top of that, he’s dangerous with his legs and had six touchdown runs in each of his first three campaigns.

Whether his haters like it or not, Prescott is one of the best players to ever suit up in Dallas and the crazy thing is, he wasn’t even supposed to be playing yet, according to many of his scouting reports coming into the league.

Note: This page was updated on 3/31/2021 by The Landry Hat site expert, Steven Mullenax