3 Cowboys on the Nice List (& 2 on the Naughty List) This Christmas

Naughty: Michael Gallup

Gallup cracking the naughty list hurts and the way his season has gone so far is just a bit disappointing. The once lethal deep threat and "mini-Dez" like play has completely disappeared this season with no signs of returning.

Gallup has just 32 catches for under 500 yards ranking him 64th and 68th respectively among all wide receivers. He has just 3 games with over 50 yards receiving en route for a third straight disappointing season.

The intrigue of Gallup being a legitimate weapon is starting to wear off.

Before tearing his ACL in the 2022 playoffs, Gallup had over 1,000 yards in 2019 and 843 yards in 2020. He dropped to 445 yards in 2021, a recovery season in 2022 coming off ACL surgery, and now yet another question mark in 2023 having yet to tally over 500 yards receiving in a season since 2020.

Luckily, pass-catchers such as Brandin Cooks and Jake Ferguson have stepped up to complement CeeDee Lamb so Gallup's absence has not been felt nearly as much as past seasons. But the memory of what Gallup looked like before and what he could bring ot this offense still stings.

Maybe he can come up big in the playoffs for Dallas, but for now Gallup unfortunately resides on the naughty list.

Naughty: Jayron Kearse

What happened to Jayron Kearse? A surprise leader of this defense over the last two seasons, Kearse has just been disappointing this year, to say the least.

For one, Kearse has already missed more tackles this season alone than he has the last two years combined. Add that to allowing an 80% completion rate and earning a PFF grade of 47 (down from marks in the 70s each of the last two seasons) and Kearse just has not been the same guy so far this season. That creates a massive question around bringing him back next year or not — a question that was without a doubt "yes" heading into the season.

Not to mention Kearse has been flagged eight separate times this season. He was flagged 7 times in the last two seasons combined.

Overall, it has just been a down year for a guy that quickly emerged as a fan-favorite in this Dan Quinn system. Kearse was an impact player that you felt through the TV screen in 2021 and '22; this impact has vanished to the point of not noticing him on the field at all.

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