The Dallas Cowboys have the longest streak of MISSING the NFC Championship game for 30 straight seasons.
For the record, that’s not a good thing.
This is a team who’s had terrific regular seasons, but an absolute stigma of never getting over the hump when it comes to the playoffs.
Despite being a quality drafter, Jerry Jones’s roster construction is holding the Cowboys back, and here’s why. This is a PREDICTION, not a REPORT!
The Cowboys have had two franchise quarterbacks in the past 18 seasons, but neither of them led the Cowboys to an NFC Championship appearance. Something has to change in Dallas’s approach, and the best course of action would be moving on from Dak Prescott.
Jerry Jones decided to give Prescott a massive extension where he’s earning around 20% of the cap each season. This is a move that is great for a superstar quarterback, but Prescott just isn’t that.
Dak has put together MVP-caliber numbers throughout his entie career, but is 0-3 in the divisional round of the playoffs. This is the concern as he’s a 32-year-old quarterback that has an average roster around him. For superstar quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, they all have game breaking skills that Prescott doesn’t have.
Prescott is the type of quarterback that could definitely lead a dominant roster deep in the playoffs, but since he’s making an average of $50 million per year, it causes the roster to be far more depleted. Quite frankly, Prescott’s roster was the best it’ll ever get with the 2022 & 2023 defensive rosters.
The way Dallas has structured Prescott’s contract makes it incredibly difficult to trade him this season, but every year that goes by makes it that much easier.
The concern with Jerry Jones being the General Manager is that he is tied to the financial aspect of the team, so having a “Franchise QB” in place is always the priority for the team.
Yes Jerry Jones wants to win, but the resources allocated to the quarterback position tells all there needs to be said.
This is as absurd of a stat as I’ve truly ever seen. It’s understandable that Dallas has had long-tenured quarterbacks, but they need to go out on a limb to get a pure difference maker at quarterback.
They reported that they were interested in drafting a quarterback for 2025, but history tells us it’ll be a 4th round flier on a game manager like Kyle McCord, rather than trying to seriously make an upgrade.
For recent quarterbacks, Dallas spent a 4th rounder on Dak Prescott, a 7th rounder on Ben Dincucci, and a 5th rounder on Mike White.
Before this crop, they had an undrafted rookie Tony Romo, a 37 year old free agent Brad Johnson, and traded for Matt Cassell as a stop-gap due to Romo’s injury.
In the past 24 years, Dallas has not spent anything more than a 4th rounder on a quarterback, and it’s resulted in this lack of success.
This isn’t to discredit Dak Prescott and Tony Romo outperforming their draft capital, but rather to show the lack of urgency to find a truly elite quarterback.
Sheduer Sanders would be a fantastic draft pick at #12, but it’s something Jerry Jones would never do as he backed himself in a corner by signing Prescott to the massive extension.
Whether it’s Jaxson Dart or Will Howard in Round Two, this season could be a huge turning point by adding Prescott’s successor in the draft.
1st Round Pick History:
- 2024 Pick OL Tyler Guyton
- 2023 Pick DT Mazi Smith
- 2022 Pick OL Tyler Smith
- 2021 Pick DE Micah Parsons
- 2020 Pick WR Ceedee Lamb
- 2019 Pick Traded for WR Amari Cooper
- 2018 Pick LB Leighten Vander Esch
- 2017 Pick DE Taco Charlton
- 2016 Pick RB Ezekiel Elliott
- 2015 Pick CB Byron Jones
- 2014 Pick OL Zack Martin
- 2013 Pick OL Travis Frederick
- 2012 Pick CB Morris Claiborne
- 2011 Pick OL Tyron Smith
- 2010 Pick WR Dez Bryant
- 2009 Pick Traded for WR Roy Williams
- 2008 Pick RB Felix Jones
- 2007 Pick DE Anthony Spencer
- 2006 Pick LB Bobby Carpenter
- 2005 Pick DE Demarcus Ware
- 2005 Pick DE Marcus Spears
The Cowboys have continueously dominated at drafting trenches on both sides of the ball, but absence of a quarterback is alarming. Dallas will stay in “above average” purgatory until Jerry Jones changes his ways and put an emphasis to truly find a franchise quarterback that can change the game.
