Cowboys Receivers Review and Future: Cut Michael Gallup and Sign CeeDee Lamb?
The Dallas Cowboys offense this season saw an uptick in improvement under coach Mike McCarthy, who was in his first year as the play-caller.
With a host of weapons, led by CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott had one of his best seasons, throwing for 4,516 yards, 36 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions.
Prescott had plenty of attacking options inside the "Texas Coast Offense,'' so how did the receiver group fare this season? Let's take a look.
We will start with the obvious. Lamb had a superb season by any measure, finishing with 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns on his 135 receptions. He also broke the franchise record for yards and catches for good measure. All of that ended with an All-Pro nod for CeeDee as he was Dak's No. 1 weapon and at times, was unstoppable when in the groove.
Now we get to the others.
Veteran Brandin Cooks was a slow burn to start his Cowboys career as he didn't have more than 27 yards and four catches in the first month of football.
But as the year went on, Cooks developed a habit of being Prescott's go-to guy in the endzone. He would finish the regular season catching a touchdown in three straight games and had eight for the year (second behind Lamb).
Cooks would finish the season with 657 yards from his 54 receptions (both rank third on Dallas' roster) as the tweaks McCarthy made to the offense after the Week 5 debacle against the San Francisco 49ers proved pivotal in turning Cooks into a viable option in the passing game.
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Then there's Michael Gallup.
One of the biggest question marks is what exactly happened to Gallup this season as he had just 34 catches, 418 yards, and just two touchdowns (both career lows).
In Gallup's last three seasons, he hasn't surpassed 445 yards and 39 catches in a year as the ACL injury appears to have taken its toll.
This season, 12 times Gallup had two or fewer catches in games (although he stated he wasn't phased), and in three of them, he didn't register a single catch. Ironically, his best return came in the playoff loss to the Packers (six receptions, 103 yards) as it was just the third time he had five or more catches in a game.
With a $13.8 million cap hit for next season, what do the Cowboys do with Gallup as he has gone down in production each year?
The answer might be below.
Jalen Tolbert showed some promising signs as he caught 22 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns in his 17 games (six as a starter). Tolbert progressed well this season as his snap count went up from 89 last year, to 477. Conversely, he took snaps away from Gallup as his snap count dropped from 738 last season to 612 this year.
Is that a sign going forward?
KaVontae Turpin (12 catches, 127 yards, three touchdowns) was used more in McCarthy's offense as his speed was a factor in getting him more involved. Look for Turpin to be used more in McCarthy's offense going forward.
Jalen Brooks, in his rookie season, saw the field throughout the year, catching all six passes thrown his way for 64 yards. He didn't get a lot of opportunities, but when they came his way, he took advantage of them.
Overall, the receiving unit had a good season, with Lamb the obvious standout. Cooks showed his worth down the stretch and is under contract for next season.
But the big worry is Gallup going forward and with Tolbert and Turpin getting more chances along with Brooks, he might see himself being phased out of the offense.
There can't be much to complain about this season from a receiver standpoint, aside from the lack of production from Gallup. Dallas could in theory cut him and eat the $13 million in dead money in 2024, or make him a post-June 1 cut and spread that money out.
Gallup is a good guy and a try-hard guy, and it's not his fault that post-surgery, he's not been the same player, left earning praise for his blocking - which is nice, but not worth $13 million.
The Cowboys are about to give Lamb a massive deal ... and are surely considering ending their dealings with Gallup.
