Dak’s Year: Why The Cowboys Quarterback Will Win MVP In 2022
In 2021, Dak Prescott put up career numbers that put him in the MVP conversation. Through the first six weeks, Prescott threw for 1,813 yards and 16 touchdowns. Unfortunately, Prescott not winning MVP came after suffering a calf injury and having a less productive second half of the season.
Fast forward to now, the Cowboys’ offense no longer has Cedrick Wilson or Amari Cooper, both major contributors last year. The Cowboys added veteran James Washington and drafted Jalen Tolbert to try and fill that void. This receiving core is now led by the young superstar CeeDee Lamb. So, with a CeeDee Lamb-led receiver room, is this the year for Dak to win an MVP? Let’s discuss.
Reason One: Dak Will Be Able To Spread The Wealth
Hear me out for a second Cowboys fans. Sure, Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson leaving hurts, that is the right way to look at that. However, I view Dak having one big receiver in Lamb complimented by smaller but viable weapons like Washington, Tolbert and eventually Michael Gallup as a positive. Ideally, Dak can now look for more options on the field rather than only looking for Cooper or Lamb like last year.
This is a similar situation to Tom Brady throwing to smaller named receivers and making them look good. I think Dak has the field recognition and ability to take this offense and make it great again. This offense will also have a healthy Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Both backs can catch passes quite well and that should scare any defense. Very rarely does a quarterback lose key players and turn it into success. However, I think Dak has the ability to do just that and prove a lot of people wrong.
Reason Two: Dak Has Dalton Schultz
Remember all of those wide receiver weapons I named above? Do not forget about the emerging star tight end Dalton Schultz. This offensive setup is perfect for Schultz to have a breakout season for the Cowboys. Dak has a clear connection with him already so it makes perfect sense for Dak to utilize that and flourish this year by throwing to Schultz more.
Schultz had 89 targets in 2020, a career-high 104 targets in 2021 and he now has every chance to become a bigger target next season. After Michael Gallup missed most of 2021, Schultz became a major factor. The 25-year-old TE should have a bigger role in the Cooper-less offense moving forward. Dallas has quite an opportunity to pay Schultz to stick around in Dallas and become a superstar tight end that Dallas has not had since the days of Jason Witten.
Reason Three: Strength Of Schedule
The truth here is that the Cowboys are tied for the easiest schedule in the NFL for 2022. While Dak should have capitalized last year, that is now behind them. A schedule this favorable should excite Dak and company to go out and dominate. They do face a tough first five weeks considering they play the Tampa Bay Bucs week one, the defending Super Bowl champion LA Rams and the Super Bowl runner up Cincinnatti Bengals.
However, if the Dak can take those games and ball out, he could be the favorite for MVP rather quickly. He would be in the same situation as last year where he was an early favorite but now this schedule is setting him up to continue to lead the charge for an MVP. Dak has the weapons to have another stellar year and if the offensive line stays healthy, Dak will cruise the Cowboys through this schedule. This should be the most exciting part here is that Dak could walk into an MVP with such an easy schedule ahead.
Final Thoughts
With everything lining up so far, I see no reason Dak Prescott isn’t at least in the running for the MVP again. Keeping Dak healthy and protected will be priority number one and I promise the wins and stats will fall into place quite easily for Prescott. This is a year that Dak needs to capitalize on and blow the stat book out of the water and lead this team over the hump. Defeating big time teams early and then showing they are the real deal in the back stretch of the season.
As of right now, I would have Dak as an early favorite for MVP. Call it a dark horse pick if you want but I think by midseason it will be quite evident that Dak is far better than most people think. Time for Dak and the boys to buckle down and put the league on notice that the Cowboys are not done yet.
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