Nothing says we are in the most quiet part of the offseason like a hot take about Dak Prescott.
Sometimes all it takes to motivate someone is a little disrespect. Michael Jordan was the posterchild for that, instantly creating a classic meme with his “I took that personally” line from Netflix’s The Last Dance documentary. Tom Brady was similarly motivated to become the greatest quarterback in the history of the sport when he fell to the sixth round of the draft.
The most recent such example, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, might be the new model for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott after a recent CBS Sports article labeled him as the most overrated QB in the league.
For those unfamiliar with Haliburton, though, a little context first. Haliburton, a former standout guard at Iowa State, was toiling away as a productive yet relatively unspectacular role player for the Sacramento Kings.
When he was traded to the Pacers during the 2021-2022 season, things changed. Haliburton became the lead facilitator for Indiana’s offense, leading the NBA in assists one year and earning two All-Star nods.
His peers were unconvinced, though. A players poll was released at the start of this most recent season’s NBA playoffs and it had Haliburton overwhelmingly named the most overrated player in the entire league.
It clearly motivated him. Haliburton then went on an insane run through the playoffs, leading the Pacers from a fourth seed all the way to the Finals, where they took a historically great Thunder team to seven games. Haliburton was unable to finish that final game, tearing his Achilles early on, but the Pacers led at halftime before falling behind without their star player.
It was the kind of run that cemented Haliburton’s status as one of the NBA’s big names, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes - or, at least, will publicly admit to believing - that he’s overrated. Of course, Pacers fans already knew this.
Enter Prescott.
Earlier this week, Prescott was listed as the most overrated quarterback in the NFL, a ridiculous claim in and of itself. Prescott has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the league over his career despite playing for an organization that is generally uninterested in spending money to surround him with elite talent.
If anything, Prescott is underrated.
Since coming into the league, Prescott ranks eighth in EPA/play and fifth among active quarterbacks, just behind Joe Burrow. Of course, if you were to suggest that Prescott is on the same level as the Bengals star and among the top five passers in the league, many would be left in disbelief.
But in five of the seven seasons when Prescott has played at least 12 games on the year, he’s finished inside the top five in EPA/play. The most recent such season was 2023, the last time he played a full season’s worth of games, and it ended with him coming in second in MVP voting despite ranking ahead of the actual winner in EPA/play and several other metrics.
What else happened in 2023? Brian Schottenheimer was elevated to the role of offensive coordinator.
While Schottenheimer didn’t call plays in that role, he was often credited by Mike McCarthy for playing a key part in building the offense. It’s why Schottenheimer, now the head coach and offensive play-caller, has said that he’s not looking to overhaul things completely but rather tweak and tinker here and there.
Simply put, Schottenheimer knows how to get the best out of Prescott. He’s watched both McCarthy and Kellen Moore call plays for his quarterback, and he’s been right there on the sidelines for Prescott’s best year of his career.
Not only that, but the Cowboys have arguably their best group of skill players since the 2021 season. CeeDee Lamb is a top three receiver in the league, while George Pickens has flashed elite abilities in the past and slots in as an ideal number two target whose verticality will open things up for Lamb. And while Jalen Tolbert is considered an afterthought by most fans, Prescott has a whopping 104.2 passer rating when targeting Tolbert over the last three years.
Prescott also recently spoke about just how determined he is to win a Super Bowl while he still has playing days ahead of him:
All of the pieces are in place for Prescott to come back stronger than ever. The claim that he’s overrated was ludicrous to begin with, and it may have just added even more fire to the player who was the MVP runner-up the last time he played a proper season.
Much like Haliburton just did, Prescott is primed to have an incredible season and leave no doubt that it was ridiculous to ever consider him overrated in the first place.
