The Tony Romo-Dak Prescott QB conundrum reveals how smart the Cowboys really are

The Dallas Cowboys have the best problem in the NFL: Two Pro Bowl-caliber quarterbacks on the same roster and only enough snaps for one of them.

As Tony Romo rounds into shape and the 2016 season rolls on, the debate about whether Romo or rookie Dak Prescott should be the Cowboys' starting QB is only going to intensify. You've heard all the points from both sides on FS1's "Undisputed," "Speak For Yourself" and "The Herd." But what you might not realize is how this little conundrum in Dallas reveals the wisdom that fills the halls of Jerry World.

Three things matter above all else in professional football: your defensive front seven, your offensive line, and your quarterback. Only one of those factors can be shored up with a single draft pick, however, and when the Cowboys took stock of their roster before the 2016 NFL draft, they realized that time was ticking on their elite signal-caller. Romo is 36 years old with a history of injuries. Sooner than later, Dallas was going to need a quarterback of the future. And according to a report this week from ESPN.com, the Cowboys explicitly decided that 2016 was the proper time to fill that gap.

Each NFL team is allotted 30 pre-draft visits to be used however they want, and Dallas never felt much of a need to use them on quarterbacks. After all, the Cowboys had Tony Romo. But in 2016, with Romo 36 years old and repeatedly injured over the past few years, Dallas brought in a whopping seven QBs before the draft. Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Paxton Lynch, Christian Hackenberg, Jacoby Brissett, Connor Cook and Dak Prescott all showed up in Dallas.

Thus started a string of moves that all but made certain they'd end up with a quarterback -- a quarterback NOT named Dak Prescott.

That report goes on to detail the Cowboys' visits with many of those players, as well as potential trades the team considered to move up to snag a QB. (Had the Seahawks not insisted on more value than Dallas offered, for instance, Paxton Lynch might have been a member of America's Team.) The specifics are intriguing, if not particularly relevant. More important is the larger approach — and how the Cowboys secured their status as one of the NFL's best teams for the foreseeable future.

It's a glaringly simple concept on the surface. As your franchise quarterback ages, you need to have his replacement waiting in the wings. All of the greatest franchises have followed that recipe. The New England Patriots might not have known what they had in Tom Brady, but when Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury, Bill Belichick had the team's future QB ready to go. When Brett Favre's career was starting to wind down, the Green Bay Packers prepared for transition at the game's most important position by drafting Aaron Rodgers. And when the Cowboys realized they needed to plan for the post-Romo era, they went out and found Dak.

This is how the smartest franchises operate — or you can watch a guy like Peyton Manning fade into obscurity without any real plan for the future. The Broncos of course drafted Lynch, a guy the Cowboys wanted, but Denver's contingency planning came a year too late. In 2016, the Broncos are having to get the job done with subpar quarterback play.

Truth be told, there's really only one downside to drafting your next QB too soon: the scenario we're seeing play out this season. When your veteran QB still has a lot of football left in him and your young signal-caller is ready to go right this minute, a quarterback controversy is inevitable. You know what, though? If I were an NFL GM, I'd be willing to pay that insignificant price for peace of mind moving forward. Frankly, we in the media probably make too much of in-season QB battles. The goal for any NFL coach is to put the best team on the field for 16 weeks of the regular season. Getting caught up in who is or isn't "your guy" merely detracts from that.

Now (or soon enough, anyway), the Cowboys have a decision to make. Do they bring Romo back and keep Prescott on the bench, waiting until the former's talent dries up completely? Or do they trade Romo and trust Prescott moving forward? If so, do they make a move before the deadline? Do they wait for this offseason?

They certainly aren't going to get rid of the younger QB; we've seen too much to deny Prescott his right as the chosen successor in Dallas. Regardless of how the Romo-Prescott conundrum plays out, though, one thing is for certain. The Cowboys' proactive approach to team-building will pay dividends for years to come. A little bit of wisdom goes a long way in the NFL.