The Dallas Cowboys could think about swapping Dak Prescott for a surprising choice.
While the Cowboys will start the 2024 season with Dak Prescott as their quarterback, the team's future beyond that is uncertain. Dallas has publicly supported Prescott as their long-term franchise quarterback, but they won't be offering him a contract extension at this time.
With the Cowboys' future at quarterback after 2024 uncertain, former general manager and current ESPN NFL analyst Mike Tannenbaum suggests that Dallas pick University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the 2024 NFL draft. Tannenbaum compares this to when the Green Bay Packers picked Jordan Love while they still had Aaron Rodgers and the Baltimore Ravens chose Lamar Jackson while they had Joe Flacco.
Tannenbaum discussed this while on ESPN's “Get Up” on Friday, March 29.
“This is about taking advantage of an opportunity,” Tannenbaum said. “Brett Favre was in the prime of his career when Aaron Rodgers fell, and they took him. Now, the difference with Jordan Love, they gave up a fourth-round pick and moved up… Joe Flacco was in the prime of his career, Baltimore moved up [and] look how that worked out with Lamar Jackson. That’s what great organizations do. They take advantage of opportunities and all I’m saying is I think that Dak Prescott’s better, but I’m hard pressed to say that any of us think that he’s $52 million per year better than Penix.”
Michael Penix Jr. Quickly Raising Draft Stock
Penix would obviously be chosen with the intention of eventually replacing Prescott, potentially as soon as the 2025 season.
If the Cowboys pursue Penix, it would likely have to be in the first round. Dallas currently has the 24th overall pick in the draft while Penix is quickly ascending mock draft boards. The 23-year-old quarterback had an outstanding performance at the Combine and followed that up with a strong showing at his pro day, clocking a surprising 4.51 40-yard dash time. He also had a 36.5-inch vertical jump, which would have been the best among participating quarterbacks at the NFL Combine.
Penix — a productive starter at Washington who finished as the runner-up in Heisman Trophy voting and led the Huskies to the national championship game — isn't particularly known for his athleticism. While he totaled 39 touchdowns overall during his senior season at Washington, he only gained eight rushing yards and endured two torn ACL injuries during his college career.
“I just wanted to show that I’m athletic and I can do it with my legs if I have to,” Penix said at his Pro Day.
Cowboys Lacking Proven Options Beyond Dak Prescott
It's evident that Penix's value is rapidly rising, and he may be selected in the early portion of the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. In fact, NFL Network’s Charles Davis predicts Penix will be chosen with the 16th pick by the Seattle Seahawks. This means the Cowboys might have to trade up if they want to pick Penix.
It's unclear where Penix will end up in the draft, but it's obvious that Dallas needs to have a backup plan because this could be Prescott's last year in Dallas. Although the Cowboys have Trey Lance on the team, he's in the final year of his rookie contract and is mostly untested. He has only started four games in his NFL career and has only started one full season at an FCS program like North Dakota State.
Experienced player Cooper Rush is also on the team, but he is better suited to be a backup rather than a starter.
Choosing Penix in the second part of the first round could be the safety net that the Cowboys need at quarterback.
