While Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott may not have had his best game ever in what became a very disappointing loss to Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, it appears as though the traditionally hyperbolic media is once again trying to push the big red button and sound the alarm.
Prescott is still the best single asset this team has going for it, but the pre-draft analysts want to put most of the blame for this slow start on him and start over with an inferior player at quarterback.
Rob Rang of FOX Sports not only has the Cowboys using the No. 12 pick in his 2026 NFL Mock Draft to select a quarterback, but he also has them taking someone who has performed at a crushingly disappointing clip in Clemson's Cade Klubnik.
If the Cowboys are seriously considering ending the Prescott era for someone like Klubnik, who has seen his stock slip to the point where he is likely not going to be picked in the first round, that might be almost as egregious a move as trading Parsons for pennies on the dollar.
Cowboys projected to replace Dak Prescott with Cade Klubnik in 2026 NFL Mock Draft
At this point, the three-headed monster of top quarterback prospects everyone seems to agree on as first-rounders are South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. Penn State's Drew Allar has struggled to start the season, Texas' Arch Manning seems like he will declare in 2027, and Oklahoma's John Mateer needs to show a bit more.
Klubnik has had one terrible year (2023, where he was on the verge of being benched) and one great year (2024, when he tossed 36 touchdowns). With average size and average arm talent, Klubnik's poor performance should get scouts alarmed.
The idea of taking a quarterback, Klubnik or not, is where this mock draft falls down almost instantly. The one thing the Cowboys have going for them right now is Prescott and his talents as a passer. Without him, there's a very good chance that this team ends up as one of the worst in the league.
While some Cowboys fans might be more receptive to the idea of blowing it up after the Micah Parsons trade and a slow start to the 2025 season, moving off Prescott and beginning the Klubnik era would somehow be a worse way to go about building a winner.