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Evaluating Dak Prescott’s 2015 NFL Draft Stock After Week 12

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By @Spencer_NFL

Dak Prescott Mississippi State

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When a team is winning, the quarterback receives much of the praise. That’s been the case this season for Dak Prescott and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Despite a loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs are one of the top teams in the country. Prescott has been in the Heisman Trophy race much of the season and may be invited to New York as a finalist for the award. So what about his draft stock?

As we’ve seen in the past, a national championship or Heisman doesn’t necessarily translate into success in the NFL — especially at the QB position. Over the last 15 years, Heisman winning quarterbacks such as Chris Weinke, Eric Crouch, Jason White, Matt Leinart and Troy Smith all struggled transitioning to the NFL. Will Prescott have similar troubles? Playing in the SEC, NFL scouts should have a fairly good idea.

The biggest issue I have with Prescott is his accuracy. His career completion percentage is 59.5. Top QB prospects Marcus Mariota of Oregon and Brett Hundley of UCLA have a combined one game (Mariota vs. Utah) under 59.5 percent this entire season. Prescott does have good awareness and decision-making skills, so the poor completion percentage tells me that his arm just isn’t that great.

In the loss to Alabama, Prescott failed to utilize the middle of the field as a passer. NFL-caliber defenders Trey DePriest and Landon Collins did an excellent job of forcing Prescott to make longer throws across the field. This led to Prescott completing only 19-of-39 passes thrown beyond the line of scrimmage, and until the final drive, only 2-of-9 with two interceptions on passes over the middle. With the way the NFL game is being played today, a QB needs to be able to hit those slants and short crossing routes over the middle.

His biggest area of strength is his football IQ. Prescott quickly goes through his progressions and usually makes the correct read. The LSU game is a perfect example of this. His running ability was on full display, but he didn’t force the run. He allowed the play to develop and made the best decision for the team.

For many reasons, Prescott has been compared to Tim Tebow. Both have similar running styles, accuracy issues and both played under Dan Mullen. Unfortunately for Prescott, when the two are compared statistically, Tebow comes out on top. In games under Mullen, Tebow averaged 155 yards passing, 49 rushing, 2.6 touchdowns and completed 65.7 percent of his passes. Prescott averages 141 yards passing, 54 rushing, 1.8 touchdowns and completes 59.5 percent of his passes.

Even though his NFL career didn’t pan out, Tebow was a first-round pick. So where does that place Prescott? Today, he’s a fourth-round talent. The smart move would be to return to Mississippi State for his senior season and develop as a quarterback.

Shawn Spencer is an NFL Draft writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Spencer_NFL, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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