Stephen Jones labels Dak Prescott 'best quarterback in the league' going into 2026 NFL season

Dallas Cowboys COO Stephen Jones called Dak Prescott potentially the best quarterback in the league. If anything, it shows his commitment and belief in the veteran signal caller.

Prescott has been a very good quarterback, and borderline great, since being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State. However, Prescott’s detractors will call notice to his lack of playoff success and numerous injuries over the last decade.

Still, Prescott and the Cowboys have an elite receiving corps and other talented weapons on offense to have a chance to return to the playoffs this year. If Prescott truly is the best quarterback in the league, as Jones suggested on Mad Dog Sports Radio, maybe Dallas can finally get to an NFC Championship Game or beyond in this current era.

“Dak Prescott, he’s just, you know, obviously we feel like he’s one of the best, if not the best, quarterback in the league,” Jones said. “And then you surround him, you know, with a running game. You surround him with the weapons, as you mentioned, CeeDee (Lamb) and George Pickens and the deep receiving corps we have. 

“You got a great tight end room led by Jake Ferguson, the offensive line group (is) strong, and of course, we got Javonte Williams signed back, so we just feel like the pieces are in place for that offense to only get better. And certainly, coach Schottenheimer is one of the top offensive minds in this league.”

Despite a 7-9-1 record last year, Dallas saw another great statistical season from Prescott. He threw for 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 67.3% completion percentage. It was the fourth season of Prescott’s career in which he’s thrown 30 or more touchdowns.

It could be telling that Cowboys legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith defended Prescott after 2025. He put the entire blame on the defense.

“Last year, the guy was a top five quarterback,” Smith said via 105.3 The Fan. “Nobody wants to talk about that. But everybody wants to talk about, ‘Well, he’s a top-five quarterback, but he hasn’t made the playoffs.’ All that isn’t on him. When you have a sorry ass defense that we had last year — let’s be honest with each other. 

“When you have a sorry defense like we had last year and you have Dak putting up the numbers he did last year… you don’t have a defense. Defense wins championships, defense will get you into the playoffs.”