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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
For a team with as little postseason success as the Dallas Cowboys have had over the last 20 years, they’ve been incredibly consistent at the most important position on the field.
Since 2007, the Cowboys have started the season with either 1 of 2 people at starting quarterback with Tony Romo and Dak Prescott — that’s an incredible 19 seasons without much turmoil at the position, injuries notwithstanding.
In that same time, in just the NFC East, it’s the least amount of opening day starters at quarterback followed by the New York Giants (3), Philadelphia Eagles (7) and the quarterback graveyard otherwise known as the Washington Commanders (10).
Still, the Cowboys will eventually have to pass the baton to another quarterback at some point.
Coming off a 5-12 season in 2024 and sitting at 1-2 through the first 3 games and possessing what could very well be the NFL’s worst defense, the Cowboys don’t have contender status anywhere in their immediate future.
For the Cowboys and Prescott, that could mean the first opportunity to part ways in any type of reasonable manner because of his 4-year, $240 million contract (and no trade clause) could be after next season — that’s according to Spotrac’s Michaell Ginnitti.
“All $40M of 2026 salary is fully guaranteed, and all $45M of 2027 compensation locks in next March,” Ginnitti wrote on September 21. “$17M of 2028 salary then fully guarantees in March of 2027, accounting for a nearly 73% guarantee rate on remaining compensation. With that said, It’s safe to assume that an extension — or exit strategy — could begin to be discussed in March 2027.”
Wildly Ineffective Cowboys Don’t Take Advantage
One of the craziest things to consider about the Cowboys having such consistency at the quarterback position is neither Romo or Prescott were first round picks — Romo wasn’t even drafter and Prescott was a fourth round pick (No. 135 overall) in the 2016 NFL draft.
That also means the Cowboys have had almost 2 full decades of being able to use their first round pick on players other than quarterbacks and failed to take advantage of such a distinct advantage. That’s in a world where a team like the lowly Chicago Bears have taken 3 quarterbacks in the first round in the last 10 years and you get the picture.
Last Time Cowboys Took First Round QB Was …
The Cowboys haven’t taken a quarterback in the first round since the 1989 NFL draft, when they took UCLA’s Troy Aikman at No. 1 overall. It’s the longest amount of time without taking a quarterback in the first round out of all 32 NFL teams by quite a large margin.
Aikman, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history and led the Cowboys to 3 Super Bowl wins.
Since the Cowboys took Aikman, just in terms of the NFC East, the Eagles have drafted 2 quarterbacks in the first round, the Giants have drafted 3 quarterbacks in the first round and the Commanders have drafted a whopping 6 quarterbacks in the first round.
Both the Commanders and Giants are currently starting their last first round picks with 2024 first round pick (No. 2 overall) Jayden Daniels for the Commanders and 2025 first round pick (No. 25 overall) Jaxson Dart ready to make his first career start for the Giants in Week 4.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
