Getty Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci
Stylistically, Tony Romo and Ben DiNucci are cut from different quarterback cloth. But there’s one characteristic the Dallas Cowboys rookie — and Week 8 starter — shares with the franchise legend.
It was buried in team vice president Stephen Jones’ latest scouting report.
“You certainly like his movement. He’s a good athlete. He’s got 10-inch hands. He can get his hands around the ball. He can sling it from a lot of angles. Reminds me a little Romo-esque in how he can release the ball from different angles,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan, via The Athletic.
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If this seemingly off-the-wall comparison sounds familiar … well, it should. Jones grouped their names together after Dallas nabbed DiNucci with the No. 231 overall pick in April’s draft.
“(McCarthy) said he’s a baller. He’s very athletic. Certainly no one is saying he is, but if you remember, Tony Romo was a college free agent,” he said on May 8, per The Athletic. “(Ben) has some of those type of tools, instinctive and seems to make plays.”
… Not Quite There Yet
As a seventh-rounder initially ticketed for No. 3 duties, DiNucci’s hype was trending upward. McCarthy indeed, as Jones insinuated, also boasted about the accurate, dual-threat James Madison product, saying, “He reminds me of a young Marc Bulger.” Bulger, too, was a late-round flier, drafted 168th overall by the Saints in 2000.
DiNucci and Romo, who played collegiately at Eastern Illinois, both hail from small, non-descript collegiate programs. They both stand 6-foot-2. They’re both heady signal-callers. They both can say they’ve donned the star. That’s where any similarities end, however.
Unlike DiNucci, Romo was a true gunslinger with a lightning-quick release and magical improvisational ability inside the pocket, a sixth sense that carried over to his post-retirement gig as CBS Sports’ top color commentator. He made four Pro Bowls, led the NFL in passer rating (2014), and accrued more than 34,000 air yards over a sparkling 14-year career that cemented him among the greatest QBs in rarified Cowboys lore.
DiNucci, suffice to say, has a ways to go. The one-time Pitt passer finished his JMU tenure with 5,716 yards, 46 TDs, and 18 interceptions across 29 games. He saved his best for last, completing 70-percent of his attempts in 2019 for 3,441 yards, 29 scores, and only six picks, earning AFCA First Team All-American honors.
At 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, though he’s not the strongest or tallest, DiNucci prides himself on his ball placement and surprisingly speedy rushing ability, the latter of which was on display during the pre-draft process and so far throughout his first-year campaign.
Mike McCarthy said rookie QB Ben DiNucci was clocked at 20-21 miles per hour in some runs this year.
DiNucci: “I might have had the wind at my back a little that day.” Said he has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.67 seconds
“Slinger”
That has been the refrain from Cowboys teammates — offensive and defensive — and now front-office executives as DiNucci prepares for his welcome-to-the-NFL moment against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football. DiNucci, who completed 2-of-3 passes for 39 yards in his pro debut last week, doesn’t boast a right arm akin to, say, Josh Allen’s, but it’s plenty impressive on its own.
“Dude, he’s been slingin’ that thing,” remarked wide receiver Michael Gallup. Echoed linebacker Jaylon Smith: “Slinger. Full of confidence. You see a fire in his eyes. We believe in our brother.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL