Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has no doubt Dak Prescott is the team’s quarterback of the present and the future.
“I’m firmly in the corner that we’ve got a quarterback that we can build with and have for years to come in Dak Prescott. Make no mistake about it,” Jones said Tuesday on his weekly radio show on 105.3 The Fan.
But Jones’ Hall of Fame quarterback, Troy Aikman, does have questions about Prescott, in particular Prescott’s accuracy. Prescott ranks 28th in the NFL in completion percentage at 61.8. The league average is 65.0, and three quarterbacks are over 70 percent, including Drew Brees with the league-leading 77.9 percent.
“He needs to be more accurate with the football,” Aikman said on KTCK 96.7FM/1310AM The Ticket, via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “I’ve said for many, many years, as long as I can ever remember, when I’m asked, ‘Hey, what do you look for first in a quarterback?’ The first thing I look for is accuracy, because the rest of it doesn’t matter.
“It doesn’t matter how tough you are. It doesn’t matter how smart you are or what a great leader you are. None of that stuff matters if you can’t put the ball where you have to put it. I’ve seen too many errant throws in that regard, and then there needs to be a little more anticipation. When there’s two deep safeties, you’re looking for somebody to take the middle of the field, and that should be your first read if you have somebody who is taking the middle of the field versus those kinds of looks. I don’t see great anticipation on what a defense is doing and how might I be able to exploit that pre-snap or as the ball is snapped.”
The FOX analyst later was asked on Twitter whether a quarterback can improve his accuracy. He replied, “Improvement can be made, but I’ve always felt when it comes to accuracy you either have it or you don’t.”
Prescott completed 67.8 percent of his passes his rookie season when he won the league’s offensive rookie of the year award. He completed 62.9 percent last season.
He has played better at home than on the road this season, completing 33 of 52 passes for 415 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 107.4 passer rating in two wins at AT&T Stadium. He is 0-3 on the road, completing 56 of 92 passes for 546 yards with two touchdowns, four interceptions and a 66.7 passer rating.