What if the Steelers could have a dream 2020 free agency?
If you could select any three players that were available from the start of the 2020 free agency, who would you choose for the Steelers?
Imagine all limits were off, but one. No cap restrictions or anything, however, a team can pick any three upcoming free agents. Still, taking the draft into account, what needs would you address for the Steelers in the free agency based on age & positional value?
Three, and three only, teams would clamor players with phone calls to no end. What does their city have to offer, the popularity that comes with each franchise, and hometown persuasions, it would be endless battles. In this situation, only worry about the Steelers and if their choices remained open to all. Who would you pick?
*Tampering period has begun, however, view it in the sense all free agents at the beginning of 2020 are available*
QB Dak Prescott
Either a huge hit or miss for all fans, remove any love or hate as we advance through these names. Granted a gifted situation since his time being the NFL, QB Dak Prescott is a gifted individual himself that only continues to improve by the season. The position Dak has been in has overstated enough & as the face for the Dallas Cowboys, it’s impossible to have not heard it multiple times.
The fact is, he’s a 27-year-old franchise player on the brink of his prime that has never missed competition due to health and a leader that a team can follow behind. Add in a career 66 completion percentage with a 97.0 QB rate, and an underused running ability that has led to 1221 rushing yards (5th-most) & 21 rushing touchdowns (1st) since 2016, he has the tools you need from a QB to win a Super Bowl with.
Not the volume type of guy through the air you’ll see of someone like QB Patrick Mahomes, but has the efficiency that riddles in various categories among the best. For QBs with at least 200 passing attempts, Prescott ranked 13th in completion percentage, 2nd in yards, 4th in passing touchdowns, 10th in QB rate, 4th in sack percentage, 8th in adjusted yards per attempt, & 3rd in passing yards game. Ok, maybe the volume was a bit of an understatement. Still not as electric as Mahomes, but with career-high attempts in 2019 leading to his most yards & touchdowns yet while maintaining a 65 completion percentage, is something worth noting.
Although footballoutsiders.com has ranked Dak first based off DYAR (Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement), this can still be unconvincing to some. First, it’s a statistic meant to measure a quarterbacks performance adjusted to the situation & opponent, then translated into yardage, which Prescott was at league-high at 1,546. Dealing with the incompetence of now Giants offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, & a defense that was ranked 19th in defensive DVOA with only 17 turnovers, there’s a reason the number is so high.
With the recent mullings of retirement by QB Ben Roethlisberger & his injuries, 2019 Steeler quarterback play that no one wants to ever re-live, and a loaded defense that will always keep this team competitive, Dak Prescott would make more sense to this team than any other player.