Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has led the NFL in almost every passing category in his decade-long NFL career, with 1 shining exception. He’s never led the NFL in passing yards.
Prescott has come close. He finished 2nd in 2019 with 4,902 yards, and has finished 3rd twice, including in 2025 with 4,552 yards.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport thinks Prescott will finally crack that seal in 2026 by leading the NFL in passing yards for the 1st time.
“In a decade in the NFL, Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys has made it to four Pro Bowls,” Davenport wrote on Thursday. “He has thrown for just under 36,000 career yards, including a career-best 4,902 yards in 2019. Last season, his 4,552 yards ranked third in the league. However, in those 10 professional seasons, the 32-year-old has never led the NFL in passing yards … until this season.”
Prescott led the NFL in completions twice, in 2023 and 2025. He led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes and a QB rating of 73.1 in 2023. He led the NFL with 4 game-winning drives in 2017 and led the NFL with 15 interceptions in 2022.
Perhaps the most important category Prescott has led the NFL in? Twice, he’s become the highest-paid player in NFL history, with a 4-year, $160 million contract before the 2020 season and a 4-year, $240 million contract before the 2024 season.
Why Dak Prescott Will Lead NFL in Passing Yards
There is no NFL quarterback who has more weapons at his disposal than Prescott.
To wit, that includes a pair of NFL All-Pro wide receivers in George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, a Pro Bowl tight end in Jake Ferguson, and a 1,200-yard running back in Javonte Williams, who also had 2 touchdown receptions in 2025.
That’s not to mention an offensive line that includes a trio of former 1st-round picks in Tyler Guton, Tyler Booker, and Tyler Smith.
It’s the same offense the Cowboys had in 2025, when they went 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive season despite having the NFL’s No. 2 offense and averaging 27.1 points per game.
Parsing Dak Prescott’s Place in NFL Record Books
Despite missing 25 games due to injuries since 2020, Prescott is No. 32 in NFL history with 35,989 career passing yards and has a chance to leap into the Top 25 with a big year in 2026 — he’s only 4,250 yards behind Pro Football Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas’ 40,239 career passing yards.
There are 7 active NFL quarterbacks ahead of Prescott: Aaron Rodgers (No. 5), 2025 NFL MVP Matthew Stafford (No. 6), Joe Flacco (No. 14), Russell Wilson (No. 16), Kirk Cousins (No. 19), Andy Dalton (No. 26), and Jared Goff (No. 27).
Prescott became the Cowboys’ career passing yardage leader in 2025, moving past Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman (32,942 yards) and Tony Romo (34,183), the player he replaced in the starting lineup in 2016.
ESPN’s Matt Bowen predicted Prescott will hit another remarkable career 1st in 2026 by bringing home the NFL MVP trophy, which no Dallas player has done since Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith in 1993.
“Prescott had more than 4,500 passing yards and threw 30 touchdowns this past season,” Bowen wrote. “With the Cowboys expected to retain wide receiver George Pickens, whom they will likely give the franchise tag, look for Prescott to produce high-level numbers again for a team that could challenge for the NFC East title in 2026 with an improved defense.”
Prediction Sees Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Make Career History