NFL coach: Cowboys' Dak Prescott won't suddenly 'become something more special'

In his ninth annual tiered ranking of NFL quarterbacks, Mike Sando of The Athletic put six signal-callers in Tier 1: Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Tom Brady (Buccaneers), Josh Allen (Bills), Justin Herbert (Chargers) and Joe Burrow (Bengals). Sando's rankings reflect voting from NFL coaches and executives, who were granted anonymity in exchange for candor. The first tier included the best QBs, the fifth tier the worst.

A Tier 1 QB, according to Sando, is one “who can carry his team each week. The team wins because of him. He expertly handles pure passing situations. He has no real holes in his game.”

Allen, Herbert and Burrow joined Tier 1 for the first time, ahead of seventh-year Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, whom Sando placed in Tier 2 and ranked 11^th.

Sando defined a Tier 2 quarterback as one who “can carry his team sometimes but not as consistently. He can handle pure passing situations in doses and/or possesses other dimensions that are special enough to elevate him above Tier 3. He has a hole or two in his game.”

“He’s a solid player. Really solid,” a head coach told Sando about Prescott. “He’s not going to change and all of a sudden become something more special.”

“I don’t think there is a major flaw in his game, but I’m not sure if he has like truly hit that upper echelon,” a defensive coach said. “I think he is a very healthy 2, a 2-plus. He has never really made that leap.”

A quarterbacks coach placed Prescott in Tier 1, calling his footwork “impeccable.”

Dallas opens its season Sept. 11 at home against Tampa Bay and its Tier 1 QB Brady. The Cowboys have not played in a Super Bowl since 1996.