And your first rookie starting quarterback for the 2016 season is not named Goff or Wentz.
Those guys were drafted Nos. 1 and 2 this spring. But No. 135 overall — 76 picks after a kicker was taken, 75 before a long snapper went — will be the first to see the field. (Of course, Paxton Lynch could beat Prescott by a few days if he wins the Denver Broncos’ starting job, but that’s not expected right now.)
Rayne Dakota “Dak” Prescott had a decorated college career, carrying Mississippi State on his back most of the past two seasons to almost unseen heights, and now the fourth-rounder will be thrust into the Dallas Cowboys’ starting lineup right away as a rookie with Tony Romo’s back unable to bear that weight.
 | @DavidMooreDMN | |
Dak Prescott will open season as starter. There is no debate there. Jerry and Stephen Jones say they will look for veteran backup.
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A broken bone in Romo’s back could keep him out anywhere from a quarter to half of the season. It’s Prescott’s show now, and he gets two division foes — vs. New York Giants, at Washington Redskins — in Weeks 1 and 2.
We’re not going to say that this whole thing felt almost predestined, but come on. Have you seen Prescott play this preseason? On multiple occasions even? Better yet, have you watched Romo get beat to sawdust in recent years? The Cowboys struggled badly when Romo got hurt in Week 2 last season, and his efforts to return late in the year were thwarted by yet another injury. He’s now officially a ticking time bomb at age 36.
Romo wanted back in the game Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks after getting hit on the backbreaking blow. He was allowed to watch the remainder from the sideline in the game, and there was some talk about Romo not even needing an MRI. Those were good indications, and Romo said that after an initial burst of pain — following one of the hardest hits he had taken to his back in some time — he felt fine.
Cowboys Nation breathed an ambivalent sigh of relief at the time. After all, it had seen Prescott light up the preseason and have another strong effort on Thursday. Was there some quiet quotient that was hoping for more Dak and less Romo?
But it had not yet brewed to a controversy — until now.
We liked Prescott a lot coming out, giving him a grade that put him in the first-round discussion, but he continued to slip. Perhaps the timing of his DUI arrest was less than ideal, happening so close to the draft, but everyone we spoke to about Prescott prior to that raved about his intangibles and character. He was too good to slip out of Round 2 and it was shocking when he lasted until late in the fourth.
He has won over Cowboys veterans since joining the team and has played well. That’s great. But is he ready to carry this team from the get-go? The good news is he had an excellent supporting cast with fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott leading a strong run game, the best offensive line in the NFL, a true No. 1 receiver in Dez Bryant and a valuable tight end in Jason Witten who will help Prescott on the field as much as he does off it.
Garrett also knows the life of the backup quarterback well and can help prepare Prescott well. Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan helped Matthew Stafford weather the early storm in 2009 when Stafford was a Week 1 rookie starter for the Detroit Lions, so he also has been through that situation. Of course, the expectations and timeline were far different for Stafford, who was the first overall pick that year. Prescott was drafted in the late fourth round, a range where most players are fighting for their NFL lives right now.
Prescott has the goods to be successful, and perhaps even early on, even if the Cowboys’ handoff plan at quarterback has been sped up considerably. After all, he has a stronger college pedigree than, say, Carson Wentz or Jimmy Garoppolo, two other QBs we expected to rise to prominence in the pre-draft cycle.
But soon, none of that will matter. The eyes of Cowboys Nation no longer are looking at Prescott as the feel-good story of the summer. He’s now being put into a savior’s role, which is a whole different deal.
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