Getty Dak Prescott is confident in the Cowboys offense heading into 2021.
Like the rest of his ilk, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott made his 2020 practice debut Friday as the team conducted its first on-field session of the COVID-ruined offseason.
Prescott went through standard 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills under the watchful eye of new head coach Mike McCarthy. To little surprise, McCarthy’s offense was not a well-oiled machine following months of inactivity.
The official stat line for Prescott on Day 1 of training camp: 11-of-17 with two drops, committed by tight ends Blake Jarwin and Blake Bell, according to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Dak’s biggest blemish, per the team-issued practice report, came on an errant outside pass that was intercepted by sophomore safety Donovan Wilson, who ran with the starting defense.
The coaching staff gave Wilson an opportunity to work with the first-team defense, and he definitely made the most of it. Wilson read Dak Prescott looking to make a near side throw outside the numbers, and he darted in front of the ball for a nifty interception. It was the first takeaway of training camp for a defense that is stressing the importance of generating turnovers.
Perspective: Training camp stats are wholly meaningless and exist only to serve as a perfunctory barometer. The entire point of the summer is to smooth over any kinks before the live bullets begin flying in September. In other words, the Cowboys want Prescott to get these picks out of his system now.
That was the bad. But there was good, too.
The day’s highlights included a stellar one-handed (left-handed) stab by rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on a out-route throw from Prescott, providing a glimpse of the duo’s quick-developing chemistry.
CeeDee Lamb with that one-handed catch. Our man @vernonbryant of DMN with the photo.
Playing under the $31.4 million franchise tag, Prescott is positioned to replicate, or even eclipse, the career season he enjoyed in 2019 (4,902 passing yards, 30 touchdowns). With so many weapons peppered across the formation, the 27-year-old is on record as predicting his “best ball is yet to come.”
After he shakes the rust from his right shoulder — the inevitable transition into football shape — and receives just a bit more help from his supporting cast.
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McCarthy Zeroes In on Dak’s Primary ‘Adjustment’
With the former Packers’ Super Bowl-winning coach arrived new offensive terminology that remains a tad foreign to Prescott and company.
Addressing reporters last Sunday, McCarthy conceded that learning his and incumbent coordinator Kellen Moore’s hybrid system has been Dak’s “biggest adjustment” to this point in the offseason.
“I think Dak has done a great job with the time away, really the whole group, with the addition of Andy Dalton,” McCarthy said. “I really like the quarterback room and diversity we’ve got there with Dak, Andy and the two young guys. Most importantly, we’ve got three former quarterbacks coaching that group. I think the biggest adjustment for Dak has been the language, which has been an adjustment for all of us.
“But he’s looked very good in the throwing segments of the strength and conditioning phase that we’re we in now and I’m very impressed.”
Mike McCarthy watching Dak Prescott and the other Cowboys QBs in individual drills today
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL