I used to think Dak Prescott was underrated. His playoff letdowns crept into people's evaluation of him as a fantasy quarterback, perhaps. But looking at him now, I don't think that anymore.
In Prescott's last three fully healthy seasons -- 2019, 2021, 2023 -- he was a better quarterback in typical leagues than you might remember. He finished in the top 6 at the position in each of those years in typical scoring systems. He threw at least 30 touchdowns in all of them.
But he got hurt in each of the other three, missing five-plus games. And last year he was a disappointment even before getting injured.
Prescott started eight games last year, and the numbers were pretty modest. He didn't run at all, perhaps hoping to stay healthy (which didn't happen), and he threw only 11 touchdowns. On a per-game basis, among all quarterbacks to start at least eight games, he was just the 19th-best quarterback in fantasy leagues. That missing rushing production, and inability to close out drives with touchdowns, hurt him a lot.
TOP 20 QUARTERBACKS, 2024 (PER GAME, 8-PLUS STARTS) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | St | Pass | TDP | Run | TDR | Pts | Rk |
Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 17 | 245.4 | 2.41 | 53.8 | .24 | 28.8 | 1 |
Joe Burrow, Cin. | 17 | 289.3 | 2.53 | 11.8 | .12 | 26.5 | 2 |
Baker Mayfield, T.B. | 17 | 264.7 | 2.41 | 22.2 | .18 | 26.3 | 3 |
Josh Allen, Buff. | 17 | 219.5 | 1.65 | 31.2 | .76 | 25.4 | 4 |
Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 15 | 193.5 | 1.20 | 42.0 | .93 | 24.3 | 5 |
Jayden Daniels, Was. | 17 | 209.9 | 1.47 | 52.4 | .35 | 24.1 | 6 |
Jared Goff, Det. | 17 | 272.3 | 2.18 | 3.3 | .06 | 23.1 | 7 |
Sam Darnold, Min. | 17 | 254.1 | 2.06 | 12.5 | .06 | 22.5 | 8 |
Brock Purdy, S.F. | 15 | 257.6 | 1.33 | 21.5 | .33 | 22.4 | 9 |
Bo Nix, Den. | 17 | 222.1 | 1.71 | 25.3 | .29 | 22.2 | 10 |
Kyler Murray, Ari. | 17 | 226.5 | 1.24 | 33.6 | .29 | 21.5 | 11 |
Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 16 | 245.5 | 1.63 | 19.2 | .13 | 21.4 | 12 |
Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 11 | 260.6 | 1.73 | 4.5 | .00 | 20.8 | 13 |
Geno Smith, Sea. | 17 | 254.1 | 1.24 | 16.0 | .12 | 20.0 | 14 |
Bryce Young, Car. | 12 | 195.8 | 1.25 | 20.1 | .50 | 19.8 | 15 |
Justin Herbert, LAC | 17 | 227.6 | 1.35 | 18.0 | .12 | 19.7 | 16 |
Russell Wilson, Pitt. | 11 | 225.6 | 1.45 | 14.1 | .18 | 19.6 | 17 |
Jordan Love, G.B. | 15 | 225.9 | 1.67 | 5.5 | .07 | 19.3 | 18 |
Dak Prescott, Dall. | 8 | 247.3 | 1.38 | 6.8 | .13 | 19.3 | 19 |
Anthony Richardson, Ind. | 11 | 164.9 | .73 | 45.4 | .55 | 19.1 | 20 |
Prescott will enter this season healthy, and although he has a new head coach, it's the same offense, with former coordinator Brian Schottenheimer running things.
But the offensive line isn't as good (Zack Martin retired), and the skill position players after CeeDee Lamb don't look promising. Two teams in their division played in the Conference Championship game last year, making it look like Dallas will be fighting with the Giants to avoid the NFC East basement.
We'll see what the team does in the draft (a top receiver or running back, perhaps?) but I don't imagine I'll have any interest in selecting Prescott this summer.
--Andy Richardson