Cowboys Scouting: QB Brendan Sorsby Compares To Aaron Rodgers And Patrick Mahomes?

FRISCO - Monday marked Brendan Sorsby's victory via a Lubbock courtroom as he won his fight aganst the NCAA's ineligibility ruling due to his alleged gambling addiction.

He will now sit out two games to start the season for Texas Tech in 2026, and will thus not be moving into the NFL via a Supplemental Draft.

But eventually, he's coming to the NFL.

So, let the "comps'' begin!

Among the teams rumored to be connected here had there been a supplemental draft was - of course! - your Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas already employs an MVP-worthy QB in Dak Prescott, but he's about to turn 33. There is some sense in the Cowboys preparing for Life After Dak. ... and Sorsby is a DFW native, making that a fun connection.

But ... allow me to answer three key questions here ...

How good is Sorsby?

Former Cowboys scout Brian Broaddus has compared aspects of his game to Aaron Rodgers (as a passer) and to Cam Newton (as a runner). That's pretty wild. But SI quotes "one NFC offensive coordinator'' as saying, “I hate to say it, you hate to make this comparison to (Patrick) Mahomes and Caleb (Williams), but he has that twitch, the arm angles of (Matthew) Stafford. His arm is electric.''

Good Lord! Sorsby is an "electric'' combination of Rodgers, Cam, Caleb, Stafford and Mahomes?

Where do I sign up? And why in the world wouldn't almost every team - had there been a supplemental draft - bid a first-rounder for him?

And as for the 2027 NFL Draft? Well, shoot, he's going No. 1 overall, right? Ahead of Texas Longhorns star Arch Manning and all the rest, right?

But what about the gambling?

Oh, yeah. That.

The two NFL scouts that I talked to aren't nearly as high on Sorsby as the aforementioned guys. They call him a "thrower'' who needs to learn to be a "passer'' ... and contrary to the above raves, they don't think he's in the same class with, say, Manning, who I say figures to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

But they are also cautious about the idea of a young man with an admitted gambling addiction being brought onboard in almost any capacity - but especially with first-round-related billing as "a savior.''

Said one: "A scouting report that doesn't include where this kid's head is at is not only incomplete, it's irresponsible.''

Added the other (regarding the No. 1-overall-pick angle): "I'll bet you a million bucks that at this point, no scout is daring to say that to his GM.''

What should Dallas do?

Had there been a supplemental draft? I've seen Cowboys watchers suggest Dallas would've bit a third-round pick. I would've been fine with that, once this franchise (along with the others) satisfied itself that the gambling problem and all of its offshoots can be managed.

Due to the philosophy of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, I've written a lot about "Second-Change Valley Ranch,'' and this team's cocksuredness when it comes to taking on players with problems.

The truth is, Dallas hasn't been any more successful at doing so than any other team.

But here's the problem with the idea of bidding a third-rounder: You never would've gotten him. 

If those 10 teams in Tier 1 all did the same homework as Dallas and found Sorsby to be both a premier prospect and a salvageable person, they would have been motivated to use at least a third-rounder on him - and the tiered system will elbow Dallas out of the way.

But now, going forward? Sorsby is where he needs to be, developing his game in college under a coach in Red Raiders boss Joey McGuire, who sincerely cares about guiding his kids. (And competing for a national title, too, of course).

And next year? It's going to take a scout/coach/GM with a huge set of cojones to tell his owner that all the problems are solvable and that he should bet the farm on Sorsby.

But ...

If some scout is willing to testify that Sorsby is Rodgers/Cam/Caleb/Stafford/Mahomes in waiting?He'll probably have a brilliant career - just as long as he "bets on it'' figuratively and not literally.