IRVING -- The Cowboys draft a quarterback about as often as a vegetarian sits down to eat a good steak.
Now, they get to savor the moment.
Dak Prescott wasn't the first quarterback the Cowboys tried to land in this draft. He wasn't even the second. But he's the one the franchise will try to develop.
It's premature to declare that Prescott will be Tony Romo's successor. All the team did Saturday was acquire a player they can take on a test run for the next few years to determine if he's the man for the job.
"I'll be awesome,'' Prescott said shortly after the club took him with its second pick in the fourth round. "I'm going to go in there and I'm going to work and I'm going to compete.
"Romo wins and I win. I think that's the biggest thing you can take from the quarterback position.''
Romo turned 36 one week before the draft got underway. This has forced the Cowboys to acknowledge his mortality.
This along with a pair of clavicle fractures that kept Romo on the sidelines for all but four games last season.
"This year was important to start down the road of developing a young quarterback,'' owner Jerry Jones conceded Saturday after maintaining otherwise in public for months.
A franchise that drafted just two quarterbacks in the previous 24 years brought seven quarterbacks to Valley Ranch for pre-draft visits. The Cowboys devoted more time and invested more resources in assessing the talent available at the position than at any time in Jones' ownership.
Coming out of this draft without a prospect, although the team came dangerously close to that happening, would have been demoralizing.
"I think we got real comfortable with the group of quarterbacks,'' executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "When it was all said and done, there were some guys we liked more than others. We worked hard a couple of times to get a couple of guys we didn't get.
"Then, as it worked out, we did get Dak.''
Paxton Lynch was the primary target. The Cowboys offered their second and third round pick to move back into the first round to take the Memphis quarterback at No. 26. Denver won that race.
Jerry Jones went to bed at 3 a.m. the next morning and woke up three hours later. He told the first six people he saw that he didn't do enough for Lynch. He was upset.
"I have overpaid for my big successes every time,'' Jerry Jones said. "I probably should have overpaid here.
"But things don't stop turning because you don't do any one thing.''
The Cowboys drafted linebacker Jaylon Smith and defensive tackle Maliek Collins with the picks that would have gone to acquire Lynch.
When Saturday's fourth round got underway the club was prepared to take Connor Cook at No. 101, the same spot it drafted Stephen McGee seven years earlier. The Cowboys had a higher grade on the Michigan State quarterback than Prescott because of his background in a pro-style offense.
So did Oakland and Chicago. Both clubs were talking to Cleveland to jump one spot ahead of Dallas to draft Cook. The Cowboys knew what was happening and also spoke to the Browns about a trade.
Oakland made the best offer. The Cowboys stayed put and took Oklahoma defensive end Charles Tapper with the next pick.
"We looked at Cook,'' Stephen Jones admitted. "He was the higher-graded guy at the end of the day, but we actually think there may be a little more upside in Dak.''
Prescott was taken at No. 135, five picks before the end of the fourth round. The Cowboys didn't have a fifth round pick.
"When you talk to people at Mississippi State, line one with Dak is intangible qualities, his leadership qualities, how he has such a positive impact on his teammates and on the team,'' head coach Jason Garrett said. "You add that to his athletic ability, and there is a lot to get excited about.
"Physically, he is big. He is strong. He can throw it. He can run. He is a very experienced player.
"Again, he is developmental from the standpoint that he is young and he has to learn how we want to do things, but there are a lot of tools there and a lot of great character qualities that you love."
Prescott loves that the Cowboys have given him a chance, even if he wasn't their first choice.
"This means everything,'' he said. "I ran around the house acting like I was a Cowboys quarterback my whole life.''
Now he gets to be one.
It remains to be seen if he's the one.
Now, they get to savor the moment.
Dak Prescott wasn't the first quarterback the Cowboys tried to land in this draft. He wasn't even the second. But he's the one the franchise will try to develop.
It's premature to declare that Prescott will be Tony Romo's successor. All the team did Saturday was acquire a player they can take on a test run for the next few years to determine if he's the man for the job.
"I'll be awesome,'' Prescott said shortly after the club took him with its second pick in the fourth round. "I'm going to go in there and I'm going to work and I'm going to compete.
"Romo wins and I win. I think that's the biggest thing you can take from the quarterback position.''
Romo turned 36 one week before the draft got underway. This has forced the Cowboys to acknowledge his mortality.
This along with a pair of clavicle fractures that kept Romo on the sidelines for all but four games last season.
"This year was important to start down the road of developing a young quarterback,'' owner Jerry Jones conceded Saturday after maintaining otherwise in public for months.
A franchise that drafted just two quarterbacks in the previous 24 years brought seven quarterbacks to Valley Ranch for pre-draft visits. The Cowboys devoted more time and invested more resources in assessing the talent available at the position than at any time in Jones' ownership.
Coming out of this draft without a prospect, although the team came dangerously close to that happening, would have been demoralizing.
"I think we got real comfortable with the group of quarterbacks,'' executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "When it was all said and done, there were some guys we liked more than others. We worked hard a couple of times to get a couple of guys we didn't get.
"Then, as it worked out, we did get Dak.''
Paxton Lynch was the primary target. The Cowboys offered their second and third round pick to move back into the first round to take the Memphis quarterback at No. 26. Denver won that race.
Jerry Jones went to bed at 3 a.m. the next morning and woke up three hours later. He told the first six people he saw that he didn't do enough for Lynch. He was upset.
"I have overpaid for my big successes every time,'' Jerry Jones said. "I probably should have overpaid here.
"But things don't stop turning because you don't do any one thing.''
The Cowboys drafted linebacker Jaylon Smith and defensive tackle Maliek Collins with the picks that would have gone to acquire Lynch.
When Saturday's fourth round got underway the club was prepared to take Connor Cook at No. 101, the same spot it drafted Stephen McGee seven years earlier. The Cowboys had a higher grade on the Michigan State quarterback than Prescott because of his background in a pro-style offense.
So did Oakland and Chicago. Both clubs were talking to Cleveland to jump one spot ahead of Dallas to draft Cook. The Cowboys knew what was happening and also spoke to the Browns about a trade.
Oakland made the best offer. The Cowboys stayed put and took Oklahoma defensive end Charles Tapper with the next pick.
"We looked at Cook,'' Stephen Jones admitted. "He was the higher-graded guy at the end of the day, but we actually think there may be a little more upside in Dak.''
Prescott was taken at No. 135, five picks before the end of the fourth round. The Cowboys didn't have a fifth round pick.
"When you talk to people at Mississippi State, line one with Dak is intangible qualities, his leadership qualities, how he has such a positive impact on his teammates and on the team,'' head coach Jason Garrett said. "You add that to his athletic ability, and there is a lot to get excited about.
"Physically, he is big. He is strong. He can throw it. He can run. He is a very experienced player.
"Again, he is developmental from the standpoint that he is young and he has to learn how we want to do things, but there are a lot of tools there and a lot of great character qualities that you love."
Prescott loves that the Cowboys have given him a chance, even if he wasn't their first choice.
"This means everything,'' he said. "I ran around the house acting like I was a Cowboys quarterback my whole life.''
Now he gets to be one.
It remains to be seen if he's the one.
