2016 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Dak Prescott

Dak Prescott, 6-2/226 Quarterback Mississippi State

Dak Prescott Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Flashes pocket passsing

Flashes accuracy

Flashes field vision

Flashes anticipation

Throws a very catchable ball

Capable arm

Can make all the throws

Good mobility

Can pick up yards on the ground

Has some pocket presence

Great teammate

Experienced against good competition

Gritty player

Strong leadership skills

Weaknesses:

Inconsistent accuracy

Inconsistent field vision

Needs to get faster with his eyes

Needs to learn working under center

Needs development for a pro-style offense

College-offense inflated stats

College offense ran lot of plays he won't run in the NFL

Summary: 'Flashes' and 'inconsistent' were the two key words in Prescott's strengths and weaknesses. Those two words are what define him as a prospect entering the NFL. If he can turn the flashes into consistency, he could be a good starting quarterback.

In college, Prescott played in a spread-option offense for head coach Dan Mullen. It was the same offense that Mullen ran with Tim Tebow at Florida, and Prescott was an excellent fit as he hurt defenses on the ground and through the air. Prescott played early in his career but really made things happen as a junior and senior. In 2014, Prescott completed 61 percent of his passes in 2014 for 3,449 yards with 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry for 986 yards with 14 scores on the ground. Prescott was much better than his previous performance as a sophomore.

As a senior, Prescott completed 66 percent of his passes in 2015 for 3,793 yards with 29 touchdowns and five interceptions. On the ground, he totaled 588 yards with 10 scores. Over the past three seasons, Prescott has shown improvement as a passer.

There are times where Prescott showed good accuracy and field vision from the pocket. He made stick throws to the sideline and displayed good ball placement. However, Prescott is inconsistent with his accuracy and inconsistent with his field vision. He needs to get better at working through his progressions and delivering the ball accurately. Prescott has the skills to be a pocket passer, but he needs to develop those traits and become comfortable at working out of the pocket. He also will need some time learning to operate from under center.

Prescott also brings mobility to escape sacks and pick up yards on the ground. He will be a nice weapon on third-and-manageable situations to pick up first downs on his own.

Off the field, team really like Prescott even though he had a DUI arrest prior to the 2016 NFL Draft. They love his football I.Q., leadership skills and character. They feel Prescott has the ability to quickly be a captain in a NFL locker room and a leader of men.

In speaking with team sources, they believe that Prescott is going to be a second-day pick.

Player Comparison: Donovan McNabb. Prescott has seen a lot of comparison made to Tim Tebow because they both played in Dan Mullen's offense. Some have compared him to Russell Wilson, but in my opinion, McNabb is the most similar. Both are quarterbacks with strong arms, mobility, shorter-thick frames, and needing work as pocket passers entering the NFL. Obviously, Prescott won't be drafted as early as McNabb was when he was the second-overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. But if Prescott improves and pans out, he could be a signal-caller with a playing style similar to McNabb.

NFL Matches: Cleveland, Dallas, San Francisco, New York Jets, Buffalo and Denver

There are a lot of teams in the NFL that are in need of a quarterback, so Prescott should have plenty of options on the second day of the 2016 NFL Draft. Cleveland's quarterback odyssey looks poised to continue. If the Browns don't take a quarterback in the first round, they could consider Prescott on Day 2.

The Cowboys could consider taking Prescott on the second day. That would be a great situation for Prescott as he could learn behind Tony Romo for a year or two while being developed by Jason Garrett.

The 49ers are in the market for a starting quarterback with Colin Kaepernick wanting out of San Francisco. Presoctt would make a ton of sense considering he is a great scheme fit for Chip Kelly.

The lack of a quarterback is holding back the Bills and Jets from seriously challenging in the AFC. Prescott would be a good scheme fit for either Buffalo or New York.

Lastly, the Broncos have a huge hole at quarterback after losing Brock Osweiler in free agency. Sources have said that Denver loves Prescott, and he would be a good fit for Gary Kubiak. The Broncos could hope to land Prescott on the second day of the 2016 NFL Draft.






RELATED LINKS:


2016 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie's | Walt's


2016 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings


2016 NFL Draft Scouting Reports