Grading the Cowboys selection of MIchael Gallup in the third round

With their third pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys addressed another big need, taking Colorado State wide receiver Michael Gallup. So far the team has remained very patient in a draft that has been littered with trades. All three picks have been where the team was originally set to draft, and so far, that patience has apparently paid off.

The need at WR obviously went up with the release of Dez Bryant, but with a deep receiver class, Dallas didn’t panic and waited for things to come to them. Now, in the first two days of the draft, they have addressed three of the five top needs - linebacker, guard, and wide receiver. And especially on day two, they got players that were seen by many analysts as being much higher-rated talents than the draft capital that was spent to get them.

Here is a look at his scouting report from PFF.

It’s no surprise that Gallup, our No. 1 wide receiver, won across the route tree in 2017. He finished the past two seasons in the top 10 in yards per route run among the draft class, including the eighth-highest total this past season. He was particularly effective in the short and intermediate range and was heavily utilized in the screen game at Colorado State in 2017. Gallup was targeted 34 times on screens and fielded a passer rating 13.9 points higher than the NCAA average. He wasn’t limited to just the shorter distance routes, as Gallup also saw positive passer ratings on corner routes, hitches and posts. Most notable was his ability to separate off of a hitch route, where he hauled in 19 receptions on an average depth of 8.3 yards while averaging 4.4 yards after the catch.

Gallup has a lot of good qualities like decent size and strength, he can catch the ball in traffic and is good after the catch. He doesn’t have elite speed so that keeps him from the top-tier.

Gallup has been mocked to the Cowboys by many, and at times, he was seen as a second-round value. The second day of the draft has been very good for Dallas.

This pick gets a solid A from me.

What do you think?