Cowboys Top-10 Roster, But Dak Prescott Unfairly Ripped as ‘Biggest Weakness’ by PFF
The Dallas Cowboys have had a successful offseason by all accounts. First, they made two trades to acquire veteran talent at positions of need in cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Brandin Cooks. … While also keeping their own from going elsewhere. Then they went into the NFL Draft to finish the job, filling another hole at nose tackle with the first-round selection of Michigan's Mazi Smith.
It is the type of offseason they needed to build off a season where they once again fell to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round. But have they closed the gap on the Niners?
Not on paper, according to Pro Football Focus, as in their recent article ranking all 32 NFL teams by their rosters, the Cowboys came in at No. 6. The only teams ahead of them were the Buffalo Bills (No. 5), Kansas City Chiefs, (No. 4) Cincinnati Bengals (No. 3), then the Niners, who only trail the Philadelphia Eagles.
The rankings seem to be spot-on for where the Cowboys should be. The gap between the Bills and Cowboys is probably minimal in the eyes of PFF. But the likeliest determining factor is Buffalo has an "X-Factor" with quarterback Josh Allen, while the Cowboys have their "biggest weakness" in quarterback Dak Prescott.
And that, we frankly find puzzling.
"Dak Prescott suffered through arguably his worst season as a pro in 2022. He led the league in interceptions despite missing five games with injury. He posted a mediocre 68.2 passing grade for the year and made more turnover-worthy plays than big-time throws," PFF writes. "Dallas was short on weapons last year, but Prescott needs to be better if the team is going to make a championship run in 2023."
Now wait a minute. Everybody realizes - especially Prescott - that he needs to take care of the football more. Prescott's 23 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 12 games are unacceptable.
But also unacceptable is the hyperbolic evaluation that he in essence made more bad throws than good ones, Not even the worst QB literally does that.
Additionally .. Calling Prescott a weakness for one bad season seems to be a stretch. But it also may be a compliment to the Cowboys' front office - albeit a backhanded one. Dallas filled all of their glaring needs except for one kicker.
Being "short on weapons" may not be said this coming fall of the Cowboys' cupboard as they added a legitimate deep-threat in Cooks to accompany CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup.
The Cowboys have what they need to get over the hump on paper. Under head coach Mike McCarthy they've proven themselves in the regular season, winning 12 games in the last two seasons. But they have struggled in the postseason. Is that all on Prescott? No, smart Cowboy fans would gladly point to a litany of circumstances beyond Dak's control in both losses to the Niners.
So what's the difference between Prescott and Josh Allen, who PFF notes led the league in turnover-worthy plays? Maybe Allen has a trait that Prescott doesn't, with his elite arm, but he also has some luck. Some of Prescott's interceptions bounced off receivers' hands and into a defender's hands. Others saw receivers run the wrong route.
Prescott made his share of bad plays, as he’s admitted. But … If he's the "biggest weakness," then the Cowboys' front office did their job to give him more help. And Dallas - with all due respect to PFF - must not have very many weaknesses.
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