Dak Prescott and Jacoby Brissett will face off on Sunday, but the real story lies in how they got here. Most fans assume top quarterbacks come from the first round of the draft, yet a recent report from the Dallas Cowboys reveals a different truth. The best signal-callers over the last ten years were actually selected in the middle rounds, specifically between picks three and five.
Teams usually expect first-rounders to deliver immediate stardom while hoping late picks even make a roster for a year or two. Middle-round players face a harder path to a long career and have accounted for most of the top performers over the past decade.
The List of Eight Survivors
According to the Dallas Cowboys official site, the top eight quarterbacks drafted in the middle rounds since 2016 include names like Jarrett Stidham and Josh Dobbs. Stidham, a fourth-round pick, backed up Tom Brady and even started an AFC Championship Game for the Broncos. Dobbs, taken in the fourth round, has played for seven teams and earned 15 career starts.
Sam Howell, a fifth-round pick by the Commanders in 2022, started all 17 games for Washington before landing in Dallas as Dak’s backup. Davis Mills, a third-round pick by Houston, has nearly 30 career starts despite being forced into action early. Mason Rudolph and Malik Willis also made the list after being picked in the third round, proving that talent often hides in the middle of the draft board.
Per reports, Jacoby Brissett was drafted by the Patriots in the third round, joining this elite group of mid-round success stories. These players usually have time to develop but must fight to stay in the league long enough to become stars. The fact that so many of them reached the top level shows that draft position does not always dictate future success.
The presence of Brissett in the starting lineup this Sunday highlights how these mid-round picks have shaped the modern NFL. He has already won in Arlington, making the matchup against Dak Prescott a battle between two players from the same 2016 draft class. Their careers prove that a team can find franchise quarterbacks without spending a premium first-round pick.
This trend suggests that smart roster building relies more on player development than draft capital. Teams that can identify and coach up these middle-round gems gain a massive advantage in the salary cap era. The Cowboys have seen this firsthand with Howell backing up their star, while Brissett brings experience to the Arizona Cardinals.
The data shows that the best QBs in the last 10 years were not the ones everyone expected to succeed. Sunday’s game at AT&T Stadium involves the middle-round underdogs.
