Player Profiles

Dak Prescott grew up in Louisiana and played football at Haughton high school. Prescott had a respectable senior season combining for almost 4,000 yards between passing and rushing, throwing for 39 touchdowns, and rushing for another 17. He led his team to a district championship in his final season.

Interesting side note, Dak's first name is Rayne, but his middle name is Dakota, hence the slang for Dak.

In 2011, Prescott enrolled at Mississippi State and decided to redshirt as a true freshman. The next season, 2012, he served as a backup to Tyler Russell, but still played in 12 games. In his sophomore season (2013), Prescott took over after Russell suffered a concussion. Prescott would finish the season as the starter, passing for 1,940 yards, 23 total touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 11-games. He was also named MVP of the Liberty Bowl after leading Mississippi State to a 44-7 victory over Rice Owls.

The following season (2014), Prescott led the Bulldogs to a 10-2 regular-season record, taking them to the Orange Bowl and the university's first number one ranking ever. That season he broke ten school records, including single-season passing yards (3,449), passing touchdowns (27), total touchdowns (41), and total offensive yards (4,435).

In 2015 he continued his impressive career, leading him to join a rare company, as the 4th player in FBS history to pass for 60 touchdowns and rushing for another 40, joining Dan LeFevour, Tim Tebow, and Colin Kaepernick.

At one point, he had a streak of 288 consecutive pass attempts without an interception. For his career, Prescott finished 3rd in SEC history in total yards, and 4th in touchdowns, impressive considering the competition within that division.

The Dallas Cowboys selected Prescott in the fourth round in the 2016 NFL Draft as the backup to Tony Romo. Romo suffered a vertebral compression fracture in the third preseason game, and it forced Prescott in the starting role for the Dallas Cowboys to begin the season in his rookie season.

Prescott is entering his fifth season and looking around his trophy room; you will notice he has been to the Pro-Bowl twice and was named Rookie of the Year in 2016. He has compiled 40 wins comparable to 24 losses and thrown for 15,778 yards and has 118 total touchdowns. He has rushed for 1,221 yards and only thrown 36 interceptions.

Adding to Prescott's achievements are his team accolades, three straight winning seasons, two NFC East titles, two playoff appearances, and one victory.

The one area that Dak Prescott has always had problems with is his pocket presence. Going back to his collegiate days at Mississippi State, you can see that he struggled to scan his progressions. It may have to do with a mindset after getting hammered in college behind an atrocious offensive line.

The Cowboys line of protection is mid-grade. Zack Martin at right guard made first-team All-Pro and Tyron Smith, a former Pro-Bowl representative, still plays at a high level. Joe Looney will replace the recently retired Travis Frederick. Dallas drafted Tyler BIadasz from Wisconsin for depth purposes in the fourth round.

Take into account that being clobbered may also have affected not only his progression reads but also his anticipation and pocket awareness.

Outside of him continuing to rebuild himself, he needs great route runners. Fortunately, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb will provide plenty. These top-shelf receivers help calm his nerves when protection breaks down because he knows the wide receivers will be there.

Prescott has tremendous arm-strength and can fit the ball into tight windows. His quick release helps him avoid sacks on a routine basis. Prescott does have the ability to run the ball, but he has many choice weapons, and an elite RB in Ezekiel Elliot, the need to run doesn’t present itself as if he was on a lesser talented team.

The good news is Dallas was much better at protecting Prescott in 2019. He went from being sacked 56 times in 2018, to just 23 times in 2019. The protection resulted in an increase in statistical numbers for Prescott. In 2019, Prescott accumulated 4,902 yards, 33 total touchdowns, and 11 INTs. Dallas will have a hard time replacing Travis Frederick, but they drafted Tyler Biadasz in Round 4 with the 146th selection as his hopeful replacement. Joe Looney is there as well. Outside of that, the unit of Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and La'El Collins will be returning.

With the return of excellent protection, more offensive firepower, and a make-it or break-it season on the line, as long as he stays healthy, Prescott should finish as a top-5 quarterback in fantasy this season.

Reviewing Prescott's injuries, he has been able to stay healthy in both college and the NFL. His only injury in college was a sprained elbow, which cost him two games. In his four years in the NFL, he has started all 16 games without missing a start. In week 14 of the 2019 season, Prescott sprained his left hand and the index finger of his right hand but was able to suit up the following week without missing any time. Unfortunately, he suffered a throwing shoulder injury in Week 15, which was likely a shoulder sprain, but still managed to suit up the next week.

A shoulder sprain or AC joint sprain is a prevalent injury in football, usually resulting from landing directly on the shoulder, secondary to being driven into the ground. The AC joint is the joint where the collarbone/clavicle meets the shoulder. It is vital for reaching out in front and across your body as if you were grabbing a seatbelt. It is particularly essential for a quarterback, as throwing is particularly painful and challenging, depending on the severity of the sprain.

There are several different grades of sprains, and although we do not know the severity of Prescott's, the fact that he did not miss a game likely means that it was either a grade one or two.

The higher level sprains typically require surgery, especially for a high-level athlete like Prescott. If this was simply a grade one shoulder sprain, the critical ligaments in this area did not tear completely, but instead are beat up and inflamed. These ligaments will scar down over time and usually do not have any long-term issues. I suspect that he received an ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection into the AC joint, but he was likely playing with a considerable amount of pain for the next few weeks.

While this injury looked concerning at the time, it is not something that should be concerning going forward. The damage has likely wholly healed, and Prescott is not at particularly high risk for another injury unless he gets driven into the ground again.

I would not even be surprised if they ended up putting some platelet-rich plasma (PRP) into this joint, which can further help the healing process.

Final Prognosis:

Sports Injury Predictor calculates that Prescott has a 25.3% chance of injury in 2020, which translates to a 1.8% chance of injury per game. I am more confident than the score is. I am not overly concerned about Dak's shoulder injury, and if I could give him a risk score of zero, I would (but everyone has risk), so a '1' will have to do.

Going forward, I am not overly concerned about this shoulder injury or any other injuries associated with Prescott, as he has been a staple of health his entire college and pro career. Considering he is entering his 5th season in the NFL, Prescott is one of the most stable and low-risk players available.

A low health risk, combined with weapons all over the field, and a high floor due to his running capability, puts Prescott anywhere between a QB5-8

Injury Risk: Low. 1/10.