Deion Sanders makes prediction on Cowboys season

Deion Sanders joined ESPN’s First Take on Thursday and discussed his expectations for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. Though he expects them to have a good regular season, he doesn’t think they’ll go too far in the playoffs.

“I love [Dak Prescott.] He is a guy that I adore. I even tell my son, Shedeur, who’s a quarterback, watch some things that [Dak] can do because he can really do some things well,” Sanders said. “And Dak is a stand-up guy. I look forward to the Cowboys having a good season. I don’t know about great, but they’ll have a good season.”

When asked his definition of “good,” Sanders explained what he thinks the Cowboys are capable of — the caveat, however, is Sanders’ low expectations for the NFC East.

“They’ll win 10 games,” he said. “[But] that division is garbage. That division is horrible. So, if you win the division, what are you going to win after that? A trip to get beat down? What is that? There’s only about three, four or five teams that could really win it all. They’re not one of those teams, but you never know what can happen because of what Tom Brady did in Tampa last year.”

Sanders, a former defensive back at Floria State, was a two-time unanimous All-American before he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the fifth overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft. He went on to win two Super Bowls and was named an NFL first-team All-pro six times, NFL Defensive Player of the Year once and was a multi-time All-Pro as a kick and punt returner, too. He is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.

Sanders played on the Cowboys for five seasons from 1995-1999, and was a part of the Cowboys Super Bowl XXX victory.

After retiring from the NFL, Sanders has worked as an analyst for NFL Network and CBS Sports. He’s since gone into coaching and is currently the head football coach at Jackson State University.

This year, Sanders said all eyes are on Dak Prescott after signing a four-year, $160 million extension to stay in Dallas. But Sanders thinks Dak has what it takes to deliver on those high expectations.

“Because he got paid. That’s why eyes are on him, because he got paid. And when you receive, people expect. And trust me — any time in life, when somebody gives you something, they expect something,” Sanders said. “So, we expect a lot from Dak, we expect a lot from Zeke, we expect a lot from the defense, and they supposedly revamped that. But you’ve got to think about Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones is a dear friend, but is one of the best marketers I have ever seen in my life. How in the world — every year — we expect the Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl. How in the world does Jerry manage to do that? With all of the teams in the country right now, we’re talking about the Dallas Cowboys. He’s brilliant.”