Michael Gallup has been the subject of much criticism this season for Dallas. The homegrown WR has struggled to regain form following a 2021 knee injury, and by most accounts failed to live up to his five-year/$57,500,000 contract signed in the 2022 offseason.
Gallup began the 2023 season as the Cowboys WR3. Dallas traded for the veteran Brandin Cooks to offer complementary speed to CeeDee Lamb’s presence and seemed lucky to have a WR of Gallup’s talent playing a tertiary role. But early struggles by Gallup led to a more diminished role as the Cowboys began incorporating second year player Jalen Tolbert and the explosive KaVontae Turpin into the offense.
Since the win against Philadelphia in Week 14, Gallup has only seen a total of three targets. Last week against Detroit he didn’t log a single target. The issue sparked a conversation with Mike McCarthy regarding ball distribution.
“One of the biggest things I tried to emphasis again today is we got to get our ball distribution up,” McCarthy said. “It’s not where it needs to be the last three weeks.”
Coming off a game where Lamb posted 13 receptions for 227 yards, ball distribution is an understandable concern. Then again, which one of those balls would be better served going elsewhere? The reason Lamb is getting so many opportunities with the ball is because he gets open and makes the most of those plays.
With 20 of 68 targets qualifying as contested, Gallup has had struggled with separation in 2023. And with only seven completions in that group of 20 contested catches, he doesn’t have the most inspiring success rate. He doesn’t always power back to the ball and shield off more aggressive defenders, resulting in close calls and even interceptions (two interceptions when targeting Gallup in 2023).
Mike McCarthy had high praise for Dorance Armstrong, "one of our most consistent players" and for Michael Gallup for his work despite low numbers. MM did say ball distribution needs to improve though. Still plenty of confidence in Gallup.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) January 5, 2024
As the Cowboys contemplate Michael Gallup’s reduced role in 2023 and his subsequent decline in targets, they should keep in mind Jake Ferguson’s sudden rise on offense. Both Ferguson and Lamb lead their respective NFL position groups in red zone targets this season. And recently Cooks has become a top red zone target of Prescott as well. With so many balls going to players who are actually open, it’s hard to justify a more even distribution of balls going to Gallup.
At the end of the day the Cowboys are best served with a less predictable and more balanced distribution. Teams will try to take Lamb away in the postseason and it will be up to the others to make them pay. But if Gallup can’t get separation downfield, there’s no reason to target him over Tolbert, Turpin or Ferguson.
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