Dak Prescott set the football world on fire in 2019 as he had his best season since entering the NFL in 2016. He finished second in passing yards (4,902) and fourth in touchdowns (30) as the spearhead of the league’s top-ranked offense. His top two receivers, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, each had over 1,100 yards last season, and even departed veteran Randall Cobb had nearly 900 yards as a third option.
Earlier this week, CBS Sports ranked the top 10 quarterbacks heading into the 2020 season. Prescott came in the fifth slot, third in the NFC behind Russell Wilson and Drew Brees.
It isn’t hard to see why Prescott ranks so high on this list when considering all the factors involved. Since Cooper arrived in Dallas, he’s been one of the NFL’s most productive receivers. In 25 regular-season games, he’s registered 132 receptions for 1,914 yards and 14 touchdowns. In 2019, he set career high’s in receiving yards (1,189), touchdowns (8), and yards per catch (15.1).
His second option, Gallup, is coming off a stellar season himself. Much like Cooper, he set career highs in yards (1,107), touchdowns (6), and yards per catch (16.8) as well in 2019, at least doubling his output in each category from his rookie season. After only hooking up with Prescott 48.3 percent of the time in 2018, that number increased to 58.4 percent last season, showing just how much their chemistry is continuing to build.
Prescott got another shiny new toy to play with in the NFL Draft when the Cowboys selected CeeDee Lamb at 17. Considered by most as the top receiver coming out of college, Lamb gives the Cowboys an extremely versatile weapon in the passing game. Much like his new teammate Cooper, Lamb can play both in the slot and on the outside. He’s a wizard with the ball in his hands in the open field as evidence by his 21.4 yards per catch in 2019 which ranked third in the nation. Now, the Cowboys can put defensive backs in even more compromising positions having to guard three dynamic receivers on one offense.
Blake Jarwin, now free to showcase his true ability with the departure of Jason Witten, will give Prescott a much more effective weapon down the seams and in the middle of the field at the tight end spot.
Prescott also has weaponry coming out of the backfield with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Elliott, although he isn’t used in the passing game like Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey, showed his versatility by leading the Cowboys with 77 receptions in 2018. Pollard, versatile in his own right, caught 104 passes for 1,292 yards and nine touchdowns in his final three seasons at Memphis.
With all these weapons it isn’t crazy to predict another monster season for Prescott. Also, with new Head Coach Mike McCarthy set to implement some of the principles of the West Coast offense to go with the philosophy of Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore the possibilities are endless to where the Cowboys offense can go in 2020.
The only left to do is to get him signed to a lucrative deal, which will happen soon, and watch the touchdowns come in waves.
