Should the Cowboys trade for Deshaun Watson and move on from Dak Prescott?
Deshaun Watson is the hottest name on the trading block, but should the Dallas Cowboys even consider a move?
Maybe the Houston Texans still don’t want to admit the truth and face down their mistakes over the past couple of years, but there’s just about no way Deshaun Watson sticks around when the 2021 NFL season begins.
Any team in need of a franchise quarterback, such as the San Francisco 49ers or Chicago Bears, needs to pick up the phone and see what Nick Caserio and the regime over in Houston wants for their franchise quarterback. Watson was second in the NFL in QB Rating and first in yards per attempt despite the dysfunction around him, so he is undoubtedly a special, franchise-altering acquisition in the hands of a competent organization.
The former Clemson star is so good, in fact, that the Dallas Cowboys may be tempted to bite. They have already dragged their feet on signing Dak Prescott to a contract extension, to the point where it’s fair to wonder if they want to keep their current franchise quarterback.
Watson is an amazing player. He is the kind of quarterback who can win an MVP and a Super Bowl in the same year and give a franchise a dream season. The problem is that a team could end up in the same situation that Houston sits in today if they aren’t careful. Acquiring Watson will require giving up a trio of first-round picks and at least one star player. The Texans will not settle, and with the sheer number of organizations that should be interested, they wouldn’t have to either.
The Cowboys will have the same issues and even less of a chance of addressing them if they trade for Deshaun Watson
Dallas has talent. They aren’t bereft of quality players on offense after drafting CeeDee Lamb and sending a first-round pick to Las Vegas for No. 1 wideout Amari Cooper. Defensively, though, Dallas has serious question marks with a unit that ranked 28th in points allowed, 23rd in yards given up, 30th in yards per carry allowed, and 21st in yards per pass attempt surrendered. Their pass rush stinks – trading for J.J. Watt makes more sense than going after Watson – and they have no true star players in the defensive backfield or on the defensive line.
Why does bringing up their defensive woes matter? Because if they trade multiple first-round picks for Watson, they will just end up in the same situation they are in now with Prescott. They’ll have problems on defense and will have to force their offense to put up ridiculous numbers in order to win shootouts week after week, and that is not a sustainable pathway to success.
Furthermore, the Cowboys would either have to make their defense even worse by trading a starter on top of their picks, or they would create a weakness on offense by giving up a star wide receiver the other way in order to beat rival suitors in a trade.
Prescott may not be as good as Watson, but he is still a potential top 10 quarterback in his own right. The former Mississippi State signal-caller was 10th in QB Rating in the 2019 season, third in passing yards per game, second in total passing yards, and fifth in yards per attempt.
Those are strong numbers from a fourth-year quarterback who was 26 years old. There may be question marks about Prescott after his injury, but those questions don’t have to deal with his leadership, accuracy, decision-making, or arm talent. Those are his biggest assets as a quarterback. If anything, Prescott is only going to get better as he enters his prime, and his net yards per attempt average was the best in the league last season before his injury. His efficiency was actually improving from 2019 to 2020, partially thanks to the acquisition of Lamb.
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The Cowboys need to stay the course with Prescott, despite his recent injury and their reluctance to pay him. Watson is elite, but Prescott is great in his own right and is also capable of going the distance in the playoffs, provided he has a strong defense around him. As good as Watson is, he never went all the way in Houston because of their problems on defense and their coaching issues. Dallas needs to focus on getting their own house in order and trusting Prescott, lest they eventually fall into the same predicament their neighbors have.