MV ... Prescott? Cowboys QB 'MVP Dark Horse,' NFL Analysts Predict

Former high-ranking NFL decision makers Mike Martz and Mike Tannenbaum believe Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is due for a bounce-back season, one that could attract the attention of MVP voters.

Last season, Dak Prescott was the king of the INT. But a pair of former NFL decision-makers see him competing for a new abbreviation this coming season.

Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Martz and long-time front office prescience Mike Tannenbaum included Prescott on a list of dark horse MVP candidates on The 33rd Team. Prescott is set to embark upon his eighth season as the Dallas Cowboys' franchise quarterback, one with more eyes upon it after he shared the NFL's interception lead with Houston's Davis Mills.

Some of those eyes, Martz and Tannenbaum believe, will belong to MVP voters. Prescott is granted 16-1 odds by The 33rd Team to win MVP, which would be the first with a starred helmet since Emmitt Smith in 1993. 

"With the Dallas Cowboys’ coaching change at offensive coordinator (Kellen Moore left and was replaced by Brian Schottenheimer), offensive players will be held accountable, and there will be more discipline," Martz declared. 

Martz certainly knows how a switch in offensive coordinator can reverse a quarterback and a unit's fortunes: when called upon to be the St. Louis Rams' offensive boss and forced to work with career journeyman Kurt Warner in 1999, Martz guided them to the top of the NFL's points and yardage rankings en route to the franchise's first Super Bowl victory. Martz later spent six seasons as the Rams' head coach, taking them back to the Super Bowl in 2001. 

Tannenbaum, the former general manager of the New York Jets, is equally enthused, believing Prescott is capable of guiding the Cowboys back to the top of the NFC East, which would be his fourth in eight years. 

"(It's) hard to believe that the starting quarterback of the Cowboys is under the radar, but that says a lot about his personality," Tannenbaum says. "Because of their championship defense and what should be a greatly improved offense, Dak Prescott could win the MVP, and the Cowboys could win the NFC East."

Prescott certainly isn't lacking confidence as he enters a fateful season under center. He recently made a bold promise about his turnover tally, promising to lose "less than 10" through the air this season. 

Joining Prescott in the brotherhood of underdogs, assembled by former coaches and front office presciences,  are fellow quarterbacks Jared Goff (Detroit), Trey Lance (San Francisco), Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh), and Russell Wilson (Denver), as well as Minnesota receiver Justin Jefferson.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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