Dak needs more help and Jerry Jones couldn’t care less.
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Perhaps the most disconcerting part of the Dallas Cowboys’ 3-4 start to the season has been the play of Dak Prescott.
Prescott finished second in MVP voting last season and was named a first-team All-Pro. It was Prescott’s finest season to date and it helped him secure the richest contract ever for a quarterback both in terms of annual value ($60 million) and total guaranteed money ($231 million).
For whatever reason, Prescott has reverted to a middle-of-the-road quarterback this season. He already has eight interceptions and has posted the lowest passer rating of his career. His 63.7% completion rate and 7.0 yards per attempt are his lowest since 2017 – his second season.
While there is no defending Prescott’s play, it is obvious he needs more help. It’s hopeless to expect the running game to improve at this juncture, but what is stopping the Cowboys from trading for a wide receiver?
Whatever it is, Jerry Jones and Co. were caught snoozing again on Tuesday as the Ravens acquired Diontae Johnson and a 2025 sixth-round pick from the Panthers in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick.
Diontae Johnson trade proves Cowboys don’t want to help Dak Prescott
Johnson is a perfect fit in Baltimore, just like he would have been on the Cowboys. The Ravens needed a more consistent WR2 for Lamar Jackson, who might mess around and win his second straight MVP and third overall.
2023 first-round pick Zay Flowers has 41 catches for 527 yards on the season. No other Ravens pass-catcher has more than 24 catches or 422 receiving yards. Flowers has also accounted for eight more first downs than any Baltimore pass-catcher.
While the lack of a true WR2 hasn’t impacted Jackson’s play, it says a lot about the Ravens (and Cowboys) that Baltimore is actively striving to be more great. Their status as an elite team is well established. And yet, they aren’t resting on their laurels.
The Ravens came up short against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game last season and they went out and signed Derrick Henry to give Jackson the luxury of an elite rushing attack. The Cowboys lost in the Wild Card Round and Jerry Jones said Henry was too expensive to sign even though Henry lives in Dallas in the offseason and was open to playing for the Cowboys.
This isn’t about Henry, but Jackson won the MVP last season. Prescott finished runner-up behind Jackson. The Ravens are clearly going for it while Dallas is operating like a team in the midst of a rebuild.
While Johnson isn’t the world-beater that Henry is, he’s been a serviceable WR2 throughout his career. He would bring a lot more balance to a passing offense that is currently hyperdependent on CeeDee Lamb, who almost single-handedly willed Dallas to a comeback vs. the 49ers.
Once San Francisco tightened up its coverage on the Cowboys’ final drive, Prescott had to look elsewhere and threw four straight incompletions. That include a drop by 5-foot-7 return specialist (!) KaVontae Turpin on third down that Prescott dropped into a bucket. Turpin is a fun player, but he should not be targeted when games are on the line.
Prescott needs to clean up his game, but no front office in the NFL does less to help its quarterback than the Cowboys. The Diontae Johnson trade won’t be the last piece of evidence before the Nov. 5 deadline is over.