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2015 NFL Draft: Evaluating Dak Prescott’s Stock After Week 14

By @bradberreman24

Dak Prescott, Mississippi State, 2015 NFL Draft

Streeter Lecka-Getty Images

The Mississippi State Bulldogs will surely fall out of the top four in college football’s playoff rankings after losing to rival Ole Miss on Saturday, but quarterback Dak Prescott is still in line to be a Heisman Trophy finalist after scoring 37 total touchdowns during the regular season (24 passing, 13 rushing).

After Mississippi State’s bowl game, Prescott will be able to declare for the 2015 NFL Draft and his prospects at the next level will become a big topic. Prescott said back in October he would declare for the draft if he was projected to be a first-round pick. After Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss, Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated reported that Prescott said a projection that he would go in the first two rounds would be “hard to deny.” But Prescott also expressed disappointment about losing the Egg Bowl, and cited a desire to come back next season based on that.

Even with his ultimate decision still up in the air, let’s look at Prescott’s draft stock right now.

Prescott compares favorably in a lot of ways to both Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, but like those two quarterbacks he has work to do in order to become a better passer. Seven of his 10 interceptions this season have come in just three games, against Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas, so he needs to improve his level of play against tougher competition.

Prescott has completed just over 61 percent of his passes so far this season, which is solid and if he can become a more consistent downfield and intermediate passer that could rise if he stays in school for another year. Simply working to tighten up his throwing mechanics could yield great improvement for Prescott going forward.

In their recently updated prospect rankings, CBS Sports.com has Prescott as the fourth-ranked quarterback in the 2015 draft class, behind Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston and Brett Hundley. Those three signal callers are underclassmen, like Prescott, but all three are likely to leave school early and all three could easily be drafted early in the first round next spring.

So Prescott could conceivably be drafted in the second round, once Mariota, Winston and Hundley are off the board, and there’s a case to be made that he’ll be the next best quarterback available with the talent level dropping off quickly after that top trio.

If head coach Dan Mullen leaves Mississippi State for another job, Prescott’s decision to leave school could come soon after even though he would clearly benefit most from another year in college. I expect Mullen to stay in Starkville, barring something unforeseen, but if Prescott still declares for the draft I think he’ll be a second or third-round pick at best.

Considering he could become a sure-fire first-round pick in 2016 with another big season as a senior, declaring for the 2015 draft looks like a bad move for Prescott. But it also would not surprise me if he does leave school early, as the big money of the NFL beckons.

Brad Berreman is a Columnist at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter or Google +.

 

 

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