Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Cowboys may be eyeing potential Dak Prescott replacement

Originally posted on NFL Analysis Network
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated 2/20/23

The Dallas Cowboys made a huge commitment to Dak Prescott during the 2021 offseason. The two sides finally agreed to an extension in March of that year, which paid Prescott a guaranteed $126 million and made him one of the highest-paid players in the league at his position.

He responded with a huge season in 2021, which created a lot of optimism going into the future. Prescott finished second in the Comeback Player of the Year voting, putting together arguably the best season of his career and helping the Cowboys to a division title. In 2022 however, everything unraveled.

An injury in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers led to Prescott missing a few weeks. Cooper Rush filled in admirably in his absence, helping keep the team afloat. Upon his return, some people were questioning whether the Cowboys were better off going back to Rush.

Prescott, despite playing in only 12 games, led the league with 15 interceptions. Untimely turnovers and erratic play led to some head-scratching results for the Cowboys.

The inconsistencies are always tough to overcome, as Prescott looked like an MVP against the Buccaneers during Super Wild Card Weekend. But, he followed that up with a dud against the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional round.

Could that lead to Dallas looking to make a big change this offseason? According to JPAFootball on Twitter, they are intrigued by Ohio State quarterback, C.J. Stroud.

Report: The #Cowboys are “intrigued” by Ohio State QB CJ Stroud, per @fishsports pic.twitter.com/sWDcz46RVc
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) February 20, 2023

Stroud is one of the top prospects in this year’s draft class and has a chance to be selected inside the top two along with Bryce Young out of Alabama. Stroud is regarded as the best pocket passer in this year’s draft class and his performance against Georgia in the College Football Playoff quieted a lot of doubters.

If the Cowboys are intrigued enough to move up and get Stroud it would be costly. They are currently slated to pick 27th in the 2023 NFL Draft. To move up, likely inside the top-3, if not all the way to No. 1, would have an astronomical asking price as no team wants to move down the board that far.

Unless Dallas includes some established veterans in a deal, it is hard to envision them being able to pull off a trade that puts them in a position to select Stroud. You can never count Jerry Jones out, but this seems like a near-impossible task for the Cowboys to pull off given the landscape of the draft board.

This article first appeared on NFL Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: