What other NFL quarterback, past or present, matches Dak Prescott’s career?
It feels like only yesterday when Dakota Rayne Prescott took over as the Dallas Cowboys’ new starting quarterback. In the blink of an eye, this young rising star has become a seasoned veteran who will be 29 years old the next time he takes a snap. Where has the time gone?
During this week’s episode of The Star Seminar, my podcast partner in crime Rabblerousr and I discussed Prescott’s career. We were joined by Locked on Sooners podcast host John Williams (and former writer at Inside the Star) where we forced ourselves to draw comparisons with other quarterbacks at similar points in their career. The measuring stick used came from the values given by Pro Football Reference.
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After four years, the signal-callers they listed who had a similar career were: Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Steve Grogan, Joe Namath, Carson Palmer, Peyton Manning, Aaron Brooks, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, and Steve Zorn. Do you feel Dak matches up to any of these quarterbacks after the first four years? For me personally, I went with…
RUSSELL WILSON (without a defense)
The comparisons between Prescott and Wilson after year four are pretty strong. They were both under the radar draft picks who were initially buried on the depth chart, yet for one reason or another got some extra opportunities and flat out balled during the preseason. They earned the starting quarterback job for Week 1 and never looked back.
Both players were super durable to start their careers. Prescott never missed a game through his four seasons. Wilson’s durability lasted even longer than that as he didn’t miss his first game until this past season.
These two both earned the reputation for being “bus drivers” as they didn’t rack up the yardage right away. They both threw for over 3,000 yards in each of their first three seasons but didn’t reach the 4,000 mark until year four. Statistically, these two were so evenly matched after their first three years in the league:
- Dak Prescott: 85 TDs, 25 INTs, and 11,820 passing yards
- Russell Wilson: 83 TDs, 26 INTs, and 11,827 passing yards
They had almost identical stats, including just seven passing yards separating them! If there ever was a case for the spiderman-pointing-to-each-other meme, this is it!
Both of them are high character guys who are embraced (by the majority of their fans) as the face of their respective franchises. These mobile quarterbacks eventually showed the league they can air it out and rack up the passing yards.
The only real difference between the two is that Wilson’s Seattle Seahawks went to a couple of Super Bowls (winning one of them) whereas Prescott hasn’t. Of course, that accolade is a team accomplishment and Wilson had a strong defense backing him. If I were to predict Dak’s career, I would still lean towards Wilson and he might even come away with similar team accomplishments. After all, Wilson had the help of a great defensive coordinator in Dan Quinn and now Prescott has a chance to enjoy such a thing. Will a little more defensive talent, this Cowboys team might find their way to the big game.
To hear what Rabblerousr and John Williams had to say, make sure to check out the latest episode of The Star Seminar where we discussed Dak’s career thus far and get into a fiery debate about where the fault lies for the Cowboys’ offensive woes down the stretch of the season.