You know we’ve reached the doldrums of the NFL offseason when quarterback rankings start driving debate. As one of the league’s most polarizing players, largely because of the team he plays for, there’s no telling where Dak Prescott will land year to year.
One list has him flirting with the top five, the next treats him like an overpaid uncertainty. Objectivity is hard to come by when you quarterback the Dallas Cowboys, and that's what separates ESPN's Mina Kimes from so many of her peers.
On the latest episode of The Mina Kimes Show ft. Lenny, Kimes and ESPN colleague Ben Solak drafted every projected starting quarterback. Kimes selected Prescott with the No. 7 pick, ahead of several household names, and provided a bulletproof explanation.
"It's kind of slept on how good Dak Prescott was last year. I mean, top five in just about every meaningful metric. One that caught my eye was just how accurate he was throwing the ball downfield. His completion percentage over expected (and) off-target rates were both top two in the NFL..."
Cowboys' Dak Prescott has solidified himself as a top 10 quarterback, if not higher
For those keeping score, Prescott slotted in behind Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Drake Maye, and Justin Herbert, in that order.
Plenty of Cowboys fans will argue he should be ahead of Herbert, who's still searching for his first playoff win, but he's a cyborg at the position. It’s a fair debate, but No. 7 feels like a reasonable landing spot for Prescott, all things considered.
Similarly, a lot of rival fans and media members would have liked to see Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, and Jayden Daniels, who rounded out the top 10, rank higher than Prescott. Even with Dak approaching his age-33 season, Kimes is confident that he'll continue to play at a high level.
"When I was thinking about this category, and who's going to give me what I expect, which is top 5-8 quarterback play, I just felt comfortable with Dak," Kimes said.
Solak bolstered Kimes' argument.
"You can set your watch to Dak being an A-minus, B+ quarterback. He's been doing it for the last decade. And he also has the postseason reputation that Herbert does ... Dak Prescott and Joe Burrow -- the same EPA per dropback in the playoffs. One of my favorite stats."
Kimes and Solak deserve credit for saying what others won't.
There’s no denying that if Prescott wants to elevate his legacy, more January wins have to follow. But the idea that he’s some playoff choke artist has always been wildly overstated.
From 2016 (Dak's rookie year) to 2025, only 10 quarterbacks have had 300 or more plays in the playoffs, per RBSM. Prescott's 50.8 percent success rate ranks third, and his 0.128 EPA per play is sixth, higher than Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Jared Goff. The next time someone tries to knock Prescott’s playoff résumé, this is the context they’re missing.
As far as the regular season is concerned, Prescott is as good as they come. From 2020 to 2025, Prescott ranks seventh among 50 quarterbacks with at least 800 plays in EPA per play (0.164) and is tied for seventh in success rate at 50.5 percent.
Quarterback rankings are subjective, but any list that doesn't have Prescott inside the top 10 is invalid on arrival. He's become too good to dismiss, but too scrutinized to fully appreciate. Thankfully, Kimes and Solak are still out here fighting the good fight.
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