3 Dallas Cowboys that need a narrative change

Michael Gallup

I will accept your appropriate “question face” meme and in return, I’ll ask you a question. How often did the Cowboys complete passes deep down the field when Michael Gallup was out? They still had Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Dalton Schultz for six games and the team still struggled to pass downfield.

Gallup is a good receiver who consistently generates separation quickness all over the field but he has made his bread and butter targeting the intermediate and deep areas of the field often against single coverage. All three receivers have the ability to generate separation in these areas, obviously, but Gallup does it more consistently than anyone on the depth chart.

Single coverage usually isn’t good enough to stop Gallup and in his two games as the team’s WR1, he caught 10 receptions for 150 yards. If it weren’t for his deep threat ability, the Cowboys probably don’t stand a chance at coming back against the Las Vegas Raiders. His incredible ability to catch sideline passes resulted in a touchdown and a major first down against the New Orleans Saints.

At this rate, the Cowboys might be best served re-signing Gallup alongside Schultz knowing he possesses great chemistry with quarterback Dak Prescott and likely is a more developed player than even the best receivers in the upcoming draft. The price tag attached to him might seem like a lot, but it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t have a defined role and impact on this passing attack given how the team operated for seven games.

The Cowboys’ offense is currently struggling to get the ball down the field. Scheming targets for Gallup to do what he does best might help the offense open up and return to its glory of the first half of the season. Oddly in the past, it felt as if Michael Gallup needed the Cowboys; now it feels like the other way around. I suppose that can happen when your team’s WR3 is good enough to be a WR1 on some teams.