Sign Dak. Trade Dak. Dak is good. Dak is bad. There are more opinions on the Dak Prescott front than there are hashmarks on a football field. But who’s right? Who’s wrong? Well, that’s the joy of an opinion. It’s not right OR wrong, unless that particular opinion is not yours.
The Dallas Cowboys have a first round pick in 2020 at number 17 overall, their first pick of that round since 2018 after trading it in 2019 to the (at the time) Oakland Raiders for WR Amari Cooper. And yes, there will potentially be QBs available there, as there most likely will be farther down in the draft as they will, barring any trades, pick at 51, 82, 122, 156 ,180*, 199, and 233 (*projected compensatory for loss of Cole Beasley in 2019 FA, per OTC).
But regardless of the “who is available” and “how good is he” arguments, I offer to you that our beloved Cowboys should avoid drafting a QB at all costs. Why? History. Plain and simple. And failure. Just for fun, let’s look at the team’s history of drafting QBs under the Jerry Jones era, shall we? And before you ”@” me, yes, I know the need was not there for the early years, as Aikman was at the helm. However, since 2000, history has not been any kinder, even though they clearly needed someone to lead them from behind center.
1989 Troy Aikman UCLA - 1st Pick overall 3 Super Bowl Wins / Pro Football HOF
Ok, that’s a no-brainer. We know Troy. He’s greatness and deserves everything he’s ever gotten. But keep in mind, Tom Landry was known to have wanted to draft Troy before his firing. And every other team in the league was going to draft him if the Cowboys didn’t. So while we count this as a win, it was a tough one to mess up. - HIT
1991 Bill Musgrave Oregon - 106th Pick overall Cut in camp
Bill Musgrave was cut in training camp to make room for Steve Buerlein. Bill is currently the OC at CAL and has served in the NFL as an assistant coach – BUST
2001 Quincy Carter Georgia – 53rd Pick overall Cut under unclear circumstances in 2004
Quincy started 31 career games with 507/902 passing and 5839yds, 29TDs, 36INTs and a 72.3 passer rating. The Cowboys had high hopes (no pun intended) for Quincy who was cut abruptly on 8/4/04 coming off a successful 2003 season. The other QBs in camp at that time? Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson, and Tony Romo. Carter had previously flunked drug tests in his time with the Cowboys and league sources said at the time of his release that he failed yet another test that would have led to his suspension for the first four games of the season. – BUST
2007 Isaiah Stanback Washington – 103rd Pick overall Cut in 2009 due to injuries
Stanback played QB at Washington but the Cowboys drafted him to play WR. He was riddled with injuries during his time in Dallas and never caught on. By all accounts he doesn’t even belong on this list other than so I can do this: - BUST
2009 Stephen McGee Texas A&M – 101st Pick overall Waived before the start of 2012
Stephen was the first REAL QB drafted by Dallas since Quincy Carter and the team believed in his speed and strong arm. And while he had some flashes in preseason games, there just wasn’t room on the roster for him as the team wanted a more experienced back up for Romo and he was let go before the season started in 2012. - BUST
2016 Dak Prescott Miss St – 135th Pick overall Current starter for DAL
This tale doesn’t need to be told here. Unless you’ve been living under a rock since 2016 you know about Dak Prescott. Consistently at the top of most QB statistical lists and leading an otherwise underachieving team to the playoffs despite an also underachieving coaching staff. His future remains to be seen but with the evidence we have already collected… - HIT
2018 Mike White Western Kentucky – 171st Pick overall Currently with the NY Jets
White was the 8th QB taken in his draft class and made the team as the third-string QB behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. He was given the opportunity to compete for the starting job with Prescott and Rush in 2019 but was waived on 8/31 after the team decided against 3 QBs. He was signed by the Jets a in September and assigned to their practice squad. – BUST
So what does all of this mean? It means the Cowboys don’t HAVE to move forward with Dak Prescott if they don’t want to. If they choose to go a different direction than Dak it needs to be in free agency, and there are names out there. But are any better than Dak? Are any better than Bill Musgrave, Quincy Carter, Stephen McGee, or Mike White? Probably not. It also means drafting for that position with ANY of the picks they have available to them in 2020 would be a terrible idea.
