MARKED MAN
Prescott, who went from anonymity to stardom as a rookie, won’t catch anybody by surprise
A year ago, quarterback Dak Prescott was all but anonymous, a fourth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys who figured to learn at the elbow of Tony Romo.
Now, after an out-of-nowhere rookie season in which he replaced the injured Romo and then never relinquished the job, Prescott is an NFL star. He held three passing camps in Mississippi and Texas this summer that drew 1,400, 750 and 900 kids.
“I didn’t think it would be within a year a thousand kids would show up to a camp,” he told reporters. “But I’ve also envisioned being able to do something like this ...
“I want them to set dreams and to dream big. When I was their age, people told me I wouldn’t do what I’m doing today. So, just to set dreams and set goals and not let anyone dictate what you do.”
Prescott started the entire season, throwing for 3,667 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushing for 282 yards and six scores. He completed 67.8% of his passes, ranking fourth in the league, with just four interceptions, giving him the best touch down interception ratio by a rookie in NFL history.
The Cowboys went 13-3 and won the NFC East, but were one and done in the playoffs, losing at home to Green Bay in the divisional round.
When it comes to quarterbacks, Prescott is far from the lone star in the NFC East. He’ll be looking to continue making strides after his remarkable rookie season, but so will Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft.
Wentz also was supposed to learn behind a veteran, but the Eagles felt good enough about him that they traded Sam Bradford to Minnesota and promoted the rookie to starter. Wentz got off to such a strong start, folks began calling Philadelphia “Carson City, Wentzylvania.”
In leading the Eagles to victories over Cleveland and Chicago in Weeks 1 and 2, Wentz became the first rookie quarterback since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to win his first two games of the season without having a pass intercepted.
Unlike Prescott, however, Wentz didn’t have a rock-solid offensive line or a particularly talented cast of skill-position players around him. Although he set an NFL record with the most pass completions by a rookie (379), he eventually fell to earth and the Eagles finished 7-9, last in the division.
By far the most experienced quarter- back in the NFC East is Eli Manning of the New York Giants, the No. 1 overall pick in 2004 and owner of two Super Bowl rings, both the result of victories over New England.
Manning has made 211 consecutive starts, the league’s longest active streak, since being inserted into the lineup midway through his rookie season. If he starts every game this year, he’ll tie the league’s secondlongest string of starts, held by his brother Peyton (227), still miles behind the 321 of Brett Favre.
While Prescott, Wentz and Manning figure to be with their franchises for the foreseeable future, the crystal ball is far more murky for Washington’s Kirk Cousins.
In July, the Redskins applied the franchise-player tag to Cousins, meaning he’ll be under contract for this season at $23.9 million. Whether he stays or goes after the season is unknown.
“In the offseason, the ball is in the team’s court,” Cousins told reporters on the opening day of training camp. “But from Week 1 to Week 17, the ball’s in my court, and I’ve got to go play football well, so that’s where my focus is.”