Ad Disclosure
ESPN Takes Dak Prescott #1 Overall in 2016 Re-Draft
By Jim Adair
Published:
In last year’s draft, the big question was Wentz or Goff? Though Goff was selected first, that debate was settled pretty quickly, and now Wentz keeps finding himself compared to another QB: Dak Prescott. Both rookies were drafted by NFC East teams with passionate fan bases, but that’s about where the comparisons end. With one year under our belts, ESPN decided to do a re-draft of where players should have gone. The Eagles still took Wentz at number two:
The Eagles will be glad to know the Rams once again passed on Wentz, allowing their guy to fall to them. Wentz did not have Prescott’s numbers in Year 1, but he also did not have close to the same quality of talent around him. The coaching staff and front office remain very confident they have hit on a franchise quarterback.
And as spoiled in Tim McManus’ write-up above, the Rams used the top pick on Prescott:
The Rams went into the 2016 draft in desperate need of a franchise quarterback, but the ideal candidate might have been the guy taken in the fourth round. With the Cowboys, Prescott benefited from a dominant offensive line, a dynamic running back in Ezekiel Elliott and an impressive collection of pass-catchers. But he also showed great poise, accuracy, athleticism and decision-making ability.
If Wentz spent last year with the Cowboys (or if the Eagles were just better), how would this re-draft shake out? Prescott outplayed Wentz, that’s true. But Dak was in a much better situation in Dallas. Wentz had to work with a depleted running corps, receivers who had plastic action figure hands, a shoddy o-line, a rookie head coach, and a new system. I’m not making excuses for Wentz, but if I was this is exactly what it would sound like.
Prescott took a 13-win Cowboys team into the playoffs and basically moonwalked into winning Rookie of the Year. Short of using superpowers, I don’t know what Wentz could have done to get the Eagles to 13 wins. Dak is now seen as the better prospect.
When Wentz was having unsustainable success early in the season, detractors said that he was just a dink and dunk QB. Prescott was able to dink and dunk all year but no one cared because it ended in wins. So if Wentz and Prescott found themselves in opposite situations last year, would this debate be different? Maybe the better way to look at it isn’t if Wentz played for the Cowboys, but if Prescott player for the Eagles. Could he have possibly had any more success than Wentz? There is no way to know, but the Eagles can start making it easier for Wentz this year by getting receivers who have full use of their hands.
Kyle: It’s impossible to compare the two at this point given their situations. But, Prescott was highly impressive in that playoff game against the Packers, and I’d argue that he actually outplayed Aaron Rodgers for most of the game.
[h/t BGN]
When he's not writing about sports here or ranting about them on Twitter, Jim is probably watching X-Files on Netflix or drinking a beer somewhere. Jim has nothing against hockey, it's just not his style. He once met Duce Staley at a Sixers game.