2016 NFL Re-Draft: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott a Top-10 Pick?
Slam-dunk Comeback Player of the Year.
Most Valuable Player candidate.
Leader of the 3-1 Dallas Cowboys and the NFL's fourth highest-scoring offense.
A year after a gruesome ankle injury sent his physical future in jeopardy and his mental health spiraling, Dak Prescott is producing an epic bounce-back season. After guiding the Cowboys to a 36-28 victory over the previously undefeated Carolina Panthers last Sunday, he is second in the league in accuracy (75.2 percent, behind only the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray) and one of only four quarterbacks with 10+ touchdown passes.
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As a fourth-round pick five years ago, Prescott is proving to be the steal of the 2016 NFL Draft. If we knew then what we know now, how high should he have been taken?
In a 2016 re-draft, the argument can be made that Prescott would be the first (instead of the eighth) quarterback selected. Among his contemporaries - Jared Goff and Carson Wentz were drafted No. 1 and 2 - he has produced more wins and touchdowns, fewer interceptions and a higher completion percentage.
While Wentz owns a Super Bowl ring (he went 11-2 as Philadelphia's starter in 2017 before getting injured and watching Nick Foles lead the Eagles to the title) and Goff started the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl 53 loss, Prescott boasts one playoff win (one more than Wentz; one fewer than Goff) and similar statistics.
QB PICK G W-L PROBOWL ATT COMP PCT YDS TD INT RUSHTD
Jarod Goff 1 73 42-31 2 1646 2582 63.7 19,271 114 57 10
Carson Wentz 2 72 36-35-1 1 1650 2630 62.7 17,731 118 51 8
Dak Prescott 135 73 45-28 2 1614 2426 66.5 18,700 116 42 24
Of the 15 quarterbacks drafted in 2016, Prescott is the only one still with his original team. Of the other five drafted ahead of him, only one - Jacoby Brissett - is still in the league.
*Paxton Lynch - whom Cowboys owner Jerry Jones coveted - went 26th overall to the Denver Broncos but started only four games in two seasons and ultimately couldn't beat out Brock Osweiler or Case Keenum. He now plays for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
*Christian Hackenberg, drafted 51st by the New York Jets, never played in an NFL game and now coaches high-school football in New Jersey.
*Brissett, taken 91st by the New England Patriots, is 12-22 as a starter and is with his third team in six seasons. He's currently starting in place of injured Tua Tagovailoa for the Miami Dolphins.
*Cody Kessler, drafted 93rd by the Cleveland Browns, went 2-10 as a starter and is out of football after being cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018.
*Connor Cook, selected 100th by the Las Vegas Raiders, played one game in the NFL as a rookie and is out of football after being beaten out of a job in the XFL by P.J. Walker.
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Being the class of 2016 quarterbacks obviously would shove Prescott from the fourth round of a re-draft and into the first. But how high? Subjectively speaking, into the Top 10.
A re-draft order would still include some of the original high picks.
San Diego Chargers' defensive end Joey Bosa (drafted 3rd overall) is a perennial Pro Bowl selection and feared pass-rusher. Cowboys' running back Ezekiel Elliott (4th) is a two-time rushing champion. Rams' cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5th) has made four Pro Bowls and is considered one of the league's elite shutdown defenders. Cleveland Browns' left tackle Jack Conklin (8th) is a two-time All-Pro.
After further review, a couple of second-round picks would rocket into the Top 10, including Dolphins' cornerback and two-time NFL interception leader Xavien Howard (38th), Tennessee Titans' running back and reigning Offensive Player of the Year Derrick Henry (45th) and New Orleans Saints' receiver and NFL single-season receptions record-holder Michael Thomas (47th).
Along with Prescott, the other mid-rounder to be re-drafted significantly higher might go all the way to the top. Taken 156th overall in the fifth round by the Kansas City Chiefs, speedy receiver/returner Tyreek Hill has altered game plans and made the Pro Bowl in all five of his NFL seasons.
Our 2016 NFL Re-Draft:
1. Tyreek Hill
2. Jalen Ramsey
3. Xavien Howard
4. Derrick Henry
5. Joey Bosa
6. Michael Thomas
7. Ezekiel Elliott
8. Jack Conklin
9. Jared Goff
10. Dak Prescott
