The Dallas Cowboys have had a very up and down year in 2019. Twice this season they've lost three consecutive games. Currently, they've dropped four of their last five games and are on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs go with their Week 16 loss vs the Philadelphia Eagles. However, there has been one bright spot throughout this rollercoaster of a season and that's the progression of second-year Wide Receiver Michael Gallup.
In the season opener vs the New York Giants, Gallup wasted little time showing how much he and Quarterback Dak Prescott had improved their chemistry from a year ago when the two missed several opportunities to make big plays. His seven receptions for 158 yards set career highs in both categories as the Cowboys blew out their division rival 35-17.
In a Week 2 win vs the Washington Redskins, he had another solid performance with six receptions for 68 yards but came out of the game a little hobbled. He would suffer a slightly torn meniscus in his knee and be ruled out for 2-4 weeks after having arthroscopic surgery.
Gallup missed two games before returning in Week 5 vs the Green Bay Packers and he picked up right where he left off from the first two weeks. Even in a loss, he was very productive racking up seven receptions for 113 yards which also included his first touchdown of the season.
The four games after that would be a struggle for Gallup as he had less than 50 yards in three of them. However, in a Week 10 matchup with the Detroit Lions he would return to his early-season form. He set a new career-high for receptions in a game with nine and had his second-highest yardage total with 148 in a 35-27 Cowboys victory.
How much has Gallup improved in 2019? His four games of 100 yards or more are tied for the team lead with Amari Cooper, in two fewer games played. He never had more than five receptions in any game as a rookie but has five games over that mark this season. Lastly, he has 28 more receptions and 502 more yards than he did in 2018.
Gallup has 61 receptions for 1,009 yards so far in 2019. If you take his average per game (77.6 yards) he would have 1,164 yards had he never been sidelined with an injury, which would be 67 yards more than Cooper, pretty impressive.
In a season that has been full of frustration for the Cowboys, Gallup has been one of the few positives as he has established himself and a valuable piece to one of the best offenses in the NFL. He's already improved by leaps and bounds and he'll only get better going forward, especially once he gets his dropped passes under control which is one of the final steps in his maturation process. It's safe to say, the Cowboys hit a home run when they turned in Michael Gallup's draft card last April.
