Troy Aikman: Dak Prescott must get past ‘fourth-round’ stigma

Troy Aikman is a Dak Prescott fan.

Aikman, the Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl championships in the 1990s, liked how Prescott handled his rookie season.

Prescott made a more seamless transition into the NFL than Aikman.

Prescott had arguably the best rookie season by a quarterback in league history, leading the Cowboys to a 13-3 record with 3,667 passing yards, a 67.8 percent completion percentage, 23 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

Aikman, on the other hand, didn’t win a game in his rookie season and threw twice as many interceptions (18) than touchdowns (nine).

But Aikman was the top overall pick in 1989 and nobody questioned his talent after his first season.

As Aikman said, “I didn’t win a game and they weren’t saying I was terrible yet. I don’t think. At least they weren’t writing it.”

Prescott faces different pressure considering he was a fourth-round pick, but Aikman feels he can handle it all.

“This is what he has wanted. He’s been through it in college,” said Aikman, who talked after Monday’s Ring of Honor Walk ceremony at The Star in Frisco. “Last year, you come in as a rookie and you’re really just trying to find your way and make the team first and foremost. Here he is thinking he was going to be the third guy, he plays great and he earned the respect of the veterans.

“Now I’m certain when he came to Dallas he anticipated that at some point he would be a starter in the NFL and he’d be the guy and they’d be building a franchise around him. It’s happened a lot sooner here than anyone thought that it would. I feel that he’s embraced this. I don’t think it’s too big for him at all. I don’t think anyone here does who’s spent anytime talking to him.

“The challenge for someone like him is to not always be thought of as that fourth-round pick. That was the challenge for [Tony] Romo, to not always be thought of the undrafted guy. It takes a little bit of time where as if you were a first-round pick, not that anyone is questioning Dak after last season, but there are probably still those that say, ‘Yeah, well let’s see what he does this year.’

“If you’re a first-rounder, they don’t say that. They say, ‘Wow, this guy is going to be great for a long, long time.’ So I think that stigma, you overcome it. If he hasn’t already, I expect it’ll happen real soon. But I’m huge fan of his and admire the way he’s handled himself.”

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Troy Aikman: Dak Prescott must get past ‘fourth-round’ stigma."