[jwplayer WR7catfC-Esf0Ippc]
Is Michael Gallup The Next Great Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver
Gallup could lead the Cowboys in receiving as a rookie?
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
Could Gallup even be rookie of the year?
Colorado State wide receiver Michael Gallup is a player who could easily outperform being taken 81st overall by the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, that means he could have a better rookie season than the other three first-round picks from the conference in Joh Allen, Leighton Vander Esch, and Rashaad Penny.
Make no mistake, this is not because Gallup is necessarily a better football player than those three picks, but to succeed at the NFL level sometimes all it takes is finding the right fight.
The Cowboys were in a desperate need of a wide receiver after they released Dez Bryant this past offseason and as of now it seems that tight end Jason Witten is heading to ESPN’s Monday Night Football instead of another year in the NFL.
Those two players combined for 132 receptions and comes out to 42.7 percent of all completed passes last year. They also lost former San Diego State wide out Bryce Butler to the Arizona Cardinals who had 36 receptions. That bumps up the catches lost to 54 percent. Someone has to make up those catches somewhere.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1369]
Dallas does of Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley. Beasley has show spurts but he has only a single game since 2015 where he had over 100 yards. Williams had a decent number of 53 catches but he never found the end zone in 2017. He had one game of over 100 yards but also had 11 games with fewer than 40 receiving yards, and his average per game was only 35.5 yards.
This leaves a huge gap to be filled for a new top receiver for Dak Prescott. Williams likely will be the guy to earn that spot due to past success, and Beasley will never be a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL on a regular basis.
This allows newcomers like Gallup to make a push to be the top wide receiver for the Cowboys. All it takes is good fit for a rookie to break out and Gallup legitimately has a shot to be not only the best rookie wide receiver but just maybe the best rookie next year.
Jeff Cavanaugh of The Athletic wrote a great piece on how Gallup could be the best wid receiver for the Dallas Cowboys in 2018. Here is a snippet, but it is worth a read.
Is he Dez Bryant on the 50/50 ball? No.
Is he Antonio Brown/Odell Beckham as a route runner? No.
Is he a deep ball threat like Ted Ginn? No.
Is he going to be the best after catch guy in the league? No.
Will he be an outstanding blend of every one of those traits, riding a versatile skill set to a long successful NFL career that’s going to be fun to watch? Yes.
And it’s going to make him the best receiver on the Cowboys roster by the end of the 2018 season.