To say Dak Prescott has had his ups and downs since being taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the 135th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft would be a massive understatement.
At times, the Mississippi State alum has legit looked like an NFL MVP candidate and has twice been in the top six of the voting, finishing sixth as a rookie in 2016 and second to only Lamar Jackson in 2023.
At other times, however, Prescott has had his problems, such as when he tied for the league lead in interceptions in 2022 despite missing five games. And there's certainly no getting around the fact that he's gone just 2-5 in the postseason.
And while all of those losses can't be put on his shoulders, quarterbacks almost always take the blame in defeat, even when unwarranted. But they also get too much credit for victories they didn't have much to do with on occasion, so that can balance out sometimes.
Prescott, of course, always has a little extra pressure on his shoulders, as that's simply what comes with being the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. But while he's taken a lot of heat over the years, some of it deserved and some of it not, there's no denying that Dak puts up numbers.
And if he can stay healthy in 2025 and put up some more of those monster figures of which he's undoubtedly capable, he can become the Cowboys' all-time leader in both passing yards and passing touchdowns, the first being a bit easier to achieve than the second. He can't quite reach the all-time lead in regular-season victories, but he can slide into second in that category as well.
Let's have a look at exactly what Dak needs to do to make a little franchise history.
Dak Prescott needs just 2,747 passing yards to become the Cowboys' all-time leader
Heading into the 2025 campaign, Prescott sits in third place on the Cowboys' all-time regular-season passing yards list, trailing only Tony Romo and Troy Aikman.
Cowboys QB | Seasons | Passing Yards |
|---|---|---|
Tony Romo | 2004-2016 | 34,183 |
Troy Aikman | 1989-2000 | 32,942 |
Dak Prescott | 2016-2024 | 31,437 |
As you can see, Prescott is just 1,506 yards from passing Aikman for second and just 2,747 from passing Romo for the top spot.
Barring injury, of course, Dak should have no trouble whatsoever in becoming the Cowboys' all-time passing yards leader. The only times in his career that Prescott has failed to reach 2,747 yards were 2020 (1,856) and 2024 (1,978).
And the only reason that happened is that he suffered season-ending injuries both times, appearing in five games in 2020 before fracturing and dislocating an ankle and eight a season ago before a hamstring injury shut him down for the second half of the year.
Even when he played just 12 games in 2022, Prescott still threw for 2,860 yards. So, again, barring another severe injury, Dak should surpass Romo somewhere soon after the midway point of the 2025 season.
Prescott needs 36 touchdown passes in 2025 to supplant Romo at No. 1
As far as regular-season touchdown passes are concerned, Prescott currently ranks second, trailing only Romo.
Cowboys QB | Seasons | Passing Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|
Tony Romo | 2004-2016 | 248 |
Dak Prescott | 2016-2024 | 213 |
As mentioned, Prescott will have more of a challenge reaching Romo in this regard.
He needs 36 touchdown passes in 2025 to get to No. 1, but he's only reached that number twice during his nine-year run with America's Team, tossing a career-best 37 in 2021 and 36 in his MVP runner-up campaign in 2023.
Outside of those two seasons, the closest he's come came back in 2019 when he threw 30.
Having CeeDee Lamb helps, and the addition of George Pickens should provide Prescott with a few more opportunities as well. But this one is undoubtedly going to be close.
Dak needs 10 regular-season wins to move into second on the Cowboys' all-time list
And lastly, we come to the Cowboys' all-time regular season wins list, where Prescott currently ranks fourth behind Aikman, Roger Staubach, and Romo.
Cowboys QB | Seasons | Regular-Season Wins |
|---|---|---|
Troy Aikman | 1989-2000 | 94 |
Roger Staubach | 1969-1979 | 85 |
Tony Romo | 2004-2016 | 78 |
Dak Prescott | 2016-2024 | 76 |
Needing 18 wins to tie for No. 1, it's obviously impossible for Prescott to catch Aikman, even if the Cowboys go 17-0 in 2025, which just isn't happening anyway.
But as you can clearly see, he needs just three victories to pass Romo for third and 10 to pass Staubach for solo second.
As Dallas has the fifth-toughest strength of schedule and plays 10 games against teams that made the playoffs this past year, that could prove to be a daunting task. But if Dak can stay healthy, there's no reason the Cowboys shouldn't at least get close to double-digit victories.