Breer’s Latest: Dak, Rams, Kap, Prospects

The Dak Prescott hype train will continue into the regular season after Tony Romo‘s latest injury will put the former Mississippi State talent in command of the Cowboys. But how closely the fourth-rounder’s electric preseason will correlate with what happens beginning next week have NFL personnel split.

“He isn’t as good as his preseason performances. Teams haven’t schemed for him yet,” a league scout assigned to Mississippi State told Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. “When they do, you’ll see his accuracy get exposed. [Dallas] will need to focus on quick, short, underneath throws, that’ll mask some of the downfield accuracy issues.”

The scout notes the Cowboys have enough talent around Prescott to keep him from being exposed but expects defenses to throw exotic blitzes at the rookie to gauge his readiness.

“He’s more accurate than I thought he would be; strong arm and a good athlete, good poise for a young guy. They’re so good up front, and should be able to run the ball behind Zeke [Elliott] and [Alfred] Morris. Those backs are good, so they can take pressure off him,” a Dolphins coach told Breer, before adding the August numbers would matter “very little” because “everyone is vanilla right now.”

Here’s more from Breer, beginning with the Rams’ behind-the-scenes approach after they were dealt a blow similar to what the Vikings endured earlier this week.

• Sam Bradford‘s preseason ACL tear in 2014 induced the Rams to inquire about trades for other quarterbacks. GM Les Snead did not confirm which passers the team pursued, but Breer reports the Rams made an effort to deal for Kirk Cousins and “seriously discussed” Jimmy Garoppolo with the Patriots. Snead discovered the price was too high on those passers before making a successful waiver claim for current starter Case Keenum.
• The offseason intrigue surrounding the pairing of Colin Kaepernick‘s athleticism with Chip Kelly‘s system dissipated considerably this summer. Unable to work out with the team for most of the offseason due to rehab efforts, Kaepernick, as a pro scouting director noticed, was running the 49ers‘ offense much slower than either Blaine Gabbert or Jeff Driskel in the 49ers’ game against the Packers. “When Kap was in the game, [the offense] slowed down—significantly,” the anonymous director said, via Breer. “I mean, it slowed down by 10 seconds [per play]. And that indicates he’s not comfortable getting them to the line, operating the offense the way they want him to do it. And it indicates the time he missed is costing him.”
• The next Notre Dame lineman to land in the first round could be left tackle Mike McGlinchey, who will take over for Ronnie Stanley. Moving from right to left tackle in advance of his redshirt-junior season, McGlinchey could follow in the footsteps of Stanley and Zack Martin. “He’s a beast!” said one area scout assigned to the Irish. “I haven’t watched film of him yet, but off the practice view alone, he’s a first- or second-round pick. He’s not as athletic as [Stanley], but he’s more physical.” McGlinchey will begin his second year as a starter for the Fighting Irish, doing so after helping Notre Dame runners average 5.63 yards per carry in 2015 — eighth-best in Division I-FBS last season.