DALLAS — When comparing Dak Prescott to others in Dallas Cowboy history, familiar names such as Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, and Tony Romo come up.
Rarely does anyone see any similarity with three-time Super Bowl-winning receiver Michael Irvin, but the Joneses see it.
On Wednesday at Prescott's contract extension presser at The Star, Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones stated that Prescott has the same impact on winning football games as Irvin did with Dallas from 1988-99.
"You look at his teammates, you look at the people, like a Michael Irvin, who spent time with him, past great players who had that 'it factor,'" Jones said. "They all love and respect Dak. He's just got an insatiable appetite to be great, to compete, to lead, whatever, however, you want to put all of that in a box, he has that. That's why Jerry and I are so convinced that we did get this right. He's only going to get better from here. I think he would be the first to tell you that, but he has such an insatiable appetite to want to work and be the best. He's only going to get better with time, and we look forward to watching him."
Irvin caught 750 passes for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns in his 159 games with Dallas. The Cowboys' three Super Bowl wins during the four-year span of 1992-96 added to the luster of the franchise and propelled Irvin into being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
Compared to Irvin, Prescott has been a late bloomer in his career. The former Mississippi State Bulldog has produced a 42-27 record with the Cowboys since Dallas drafted him in Round 4 in 2016.
However, despite the two division titles in 2016 and 2018, the Cowboys have just one playoff win in Prescott’s time under center, an NFC wild-card win over the Seattle Seahawks at the end of the 2018 season.
Though the results haven't manifested, a championship mentality is evident in Prescott at the molecular level. The Cowboys' owner, president, and general manager, Jerry Jones, has seen the 27-year-old's ability to take the concepts he learns in meetings and apply them to the practice field and on game days.
"Dak is one of the best at taking it from the classroom to the practice field to the game," said Jones. "It won't be being done the same way five years from now for Dak or for us. It'll be done differently eight years from now. If I've ever seen anybody that has the work ethic, that has the overall feel for what you're trying to do, winning a ball game — if I’ve ever seen anybody that you could work with over a period of time to work with the ebbs and flows of what we're going to be dealing with the makeup of our roster from that position, that's one of the biggest boxes, might have been one right there at the top that Dak checked."
Prescott signed a four-year, $160 million contract and solves the biggest offseason storylines for a franchise desperate to overcome a 6-10 finish in 2020 and return to contending for the NFC East crown — and a lot more.
Do you think Dak Prescott has that star leadership factor to go along with his star play at quarterback? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
