If there was one position room, on the offensive side of the ball at least, that the Dallas Cowboys improved in the draft, it was the quarterback room.
And they didn’t even spend a draft pick, or sign a free agent post-draft, to do it. And here you guys keep saying I never write anything positive about the Cowboys.
Dallas managed to land a solid back-up to Dak Prescott to take over after the next leg injury strikes.
Yeah, I know, the good vibes sure didn’t last long, did they?
Seriously, though, getting Joe Milton from the Patriots, along with a seventh-round pick, while giving up only a fifth-round pick in return goes down as the best move of the draft for the Cowboys this year.
He is a definite upgrade from Cooper Rush and Trey Lance. To be honest, he’s probably an upgrade over both of them combined.
He does have one game under his belt that technically should be considered a start as he took over after the first series.
So when, not if, but when Prescott goes down again, he won’t have the nerves that come to every young quarterback when they make their first NFL start.
Let’s take a look at the clearly new and improved quarterback room for the post-2025 Draft Dallas Cowboys.
Dak Prescott
I’m not going to beat a dead horse here. You all know my issues with Prescott as far as his overall performance, especially in the playoffs.
It doesn’t matter what I think, or even what you think for that matter.
Prescott is the starter at quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
We’ll have to hope that he can play a full season this year. He’s only managed to do that twice in the last five seasons.
Last year, through eight games, he was on pace to set his career-high in interceptions.
He had eight when he went down for the year last season, a pace that would have had him at 17 by the end of the year. He had nine total in 17 games the season before.
His career high of 15 came in the 2022 season, and he did that in just 12 games.
The good news is that, starting in 2019, Prescott has thrown for over 4,000 yards every other season.
Prescott threw for a career-high 4,902 in 2019, 4,449 yards in 2021, and 4,516 yards in 2023. Can he crack 4,000 yards in 2025?
If he does, maybe Dallas has a winning season.
If he cuts down on the turnovers, that is.
We’ll just have to hope he maintains his streak of solid numbers in odd-numbered years.
Joe Milton
Drafted last year by the Patriots, Milton couldn’t beat out Drake Maye for the starting slot.
He was impressive in his one game, a season-finale win over Buffalo. He was 22-for-29, with 241 yards passing and one touchdown.
He added 16 yards and a touchdown rushing. While he did not throw and interception, he did lose a fumble.
Still, not bad for a rookie in his first game and playing against a pretty good team at that.
Again, he’s still a better backup quarterback than both Rush and Lance were.
Milton has a strong arm and can make plays with his legs. Unlike Rush and Lance, I would have confidence that Dallas could win if he started should Prescott go down again.
Could Milton be the heir apparent, especially as Dallas does have an out on Prescott’s contract after the 2027 season?
Possibly. Which makes the Cowboys addressing the backup quarterback position the way they did one of the few great moves they’ve made this offseason.
Will Grier
Let’s be honest here. If Grier gets into any regular-season game it will be because either Prescott or Milton are down with an injury.
He would come in to either mop up in a blowout victory, or get in a few snaps to put an end to the misery of a blowout loss.
If he starts a regular-season game, that means yet another season has gone off the rails in Dallas.
Some might point to his preseason game a couple of years back as a sign of promise. With Dak Prescott calling plays, not quite 100% of them being passes, Grier piled up big numbers.
But he hasn’t done it in a regular-season game, either with the Cowboys or any other team he’s signed with.
Originally drafted by Carolina in 2019, Grier started two games for the Panthers that season and went 0-2. He was a combined 28-of-52 passing for 228 yards, zero touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Ouch.
If both Prescott and Milton were to go down and miss multiple games? Let’s just say we’re all hoping Prescott and Milton stay very healthy.