Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup went for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns in 2019, his second year in the league, and it looked like he was heading towards a breakout, but his future development was disrupted by injury.
Gallup hurt his left ankle in Week 1 of 2021, causing him to miss six games, then he tore his ACL in his left knee in Week 17. There was optimism that he would be able to return in time for the opening game of 2022, but he ended up needing extra time to rehab and wouldn't be healthy until Week 4. When he returned, Noah Brown was playing ahead of him for a couple of games, and even when Gallup had returned to playing 80-90% of the snaps, he still wasn't making major contributions.
Now it has been reported that the 26-year-old has had two arthroscopic surgeries done on his right knee and right ankle in late January. Will Michael Gallup be ready for training camp?
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Michael Gallup Injury Update for Fantasy Football
The arthroscopic surgeries were described as "minimally-invasive meniscus repair and ankle clean-up." The official Dallas Cowboys team website states, "Gallup should be able to recover in time to participate in some offseason practices with a chance to be fully healthy by the start of training camp."
If Gallup was playing with discomfort during the 2022 season, that could partially explain his underwhelming production. On the other hand, it's not a good sign for his overall durability. He has now had surgery on both legs in the span of less than a year.
Michael Gallup 2023 Fantasy Outlook
Jerry Jones and his son Stephen have admitted that they failed to put together a quality wide receiver room last offseason after trading Amari Cooper. They are enthusiastic about pursuing Odell Beckham Jr.
If they don't add a big-name receiver in free agency, they are likely to draft one in the first two rounds. Either way, the Cowboys will have a new No. 2 WR, and Gallup will have more target competition in 2023.
He hasn't shown he can cut it as a star pass catcher. His catch rate is 55.0% in his career and has been declining since 2019. Even when he got 113 targets that year, he only ended up with 66 receptions.
However, there are reasons for optimism. Most players struggle in their first season after returning from an ACL tear. We saw this season how much of a jump New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley made in his second year after tearing his ACL. Gallup's ADP will be lower than it was before, so if he can enter 2023 fully healthy, then it wouldn't take a lot for him to outperform expectations.
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