Cowboys QB Dak Prescott molding game after Russell Wilson
Preseason football or not, Dak Prescott has been extremely impressive this summer. If you even see a little of Russell Wilson in the Cowboys quarterback, that’s no accident.
Prescott’s numbers have been remarkable thus far. The fourth-round draft pick has completed 22 of 27 passes for 338 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He’s also run five times for 41 yards and another two scores. The rookie signal-caller has been so good, the Cowboys seem content to roll with him as the primary backup this season.
What’s made Prescott so good is not just his arm strength or decision making, but his mobility. And it’s not merely the fact that he can run, but how he uses that ability — much like Wilson for the Seahawks.
“He uses his legs the right way,” Prescott said of Wilson to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, “and the way you should use them in this league, not necessarily a run-first guy but definitely can make all the throws from the pocket, on the run, looking to pass the ball first, and then use his legs. That’s something I’ve kind of looked at.”
It’s true that is largely what separates the quarterbacks who can run from the running quarterbacks in the NFL. Wilson may scramble a lot, he’ll even take off, but he typically keeps his eyes down the field looking to throw the football. Running to advance the football is often the last resort.
Prescott sees that too, and the fact that the Mississippi State product is patterning his own game after a Super Bowl champion is good news for the Cowboys. With Tony Romo getting up there in years and on the mend a bunch lately, Prescott may be asked to step into a real game sooner rather than later.