One offensive player the Cowboys could trade this offseason

When healthy, the Dallas Cowboys offense is one of the best in the league. In the five games that their star quarterback was available, Dallas scored 17, 40, 31, 38, and 37 points. That’s an average of 32.6 points per game. With Dak Prescott in the fold, the Cowboys had 500 plus yards of total offense three times, including an astounding 566 against Cleveland. Unfortunately for Dallas, their defense surrendered 508 in that same game.

Even when Prescott went down, the Cowboys’ offensive playmakers still were able to help the team put up points. In three of their final four games, Dallas scored 30 or more points. Against Philadelphia in Week 16, they had 513 total yards of offense.

With Prescott (hopefully) set to return this season, Dallas will once again have one of the league’s premier offenses. With such a star-studded unit, is there a player the Cowboys could look to trade and acquire some draft capital, or help on the defensive side of the ball? We continue our three-part series on the offense by answering that very question. Who’s one offensive player Dallas could look to trade this offseason?

The offensive player the Cowboys could trade is Michael Gallup.

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Right off the bat, I’m going to come out and say personally, I would not be in favor of trading Michael Gallup. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Dallas has the perfect trio of non-diva wideouts, and it wouldn't be wise to mess with the group. But, if there is one offensive player on the roster who could potentially be moved this spring, Gallup is clearly the guy.

The 24-year-old wide receiver had a down year stat-wise in 2020, but some of that can be attributed to inconsistent quarterback play. Gallup still hauled in 59 passes for 843 yards, finding the end zone five times. The former third-round pick had at least two catches in 15 of the Cowboys’ 16 games. His 14.3 yards per reception was the lowest mark of his career, but he still continued to show his ability to make big plays down the field.

Three years into his NFL career, the Colorado State product has proven himself as one of the biggest deep threats in the league. According to Pro Football Focus, Gallup was targeted 20 times on deep passes (passes of 20 or more yards). 24% of Gallup’s targets on the entire season were deep passes.

There are plenty of teams who could use Gallup on their team. He easily could be a clear number two receiver on a vast majority of teams in the NFL, and potentially a number one in some spots. The only negative a team potentially acquiring Gallup would have to deal with is that he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2021 season. If the Cowboys were to deal Gallup, that would be a big factor in why.

With Amari Cooper, Ezekiel Elliott, Zack Martin, and in the near future Dak Prescott, making big money on offense, the Cowboys most likely won’t be able to match market value for Gallup. If Dallas was to deal him now, they could possibly acquire a high draft pick, and use it to upgrade one of their many holes on the defensive side of the ball. The Cowboys still would have a formidable receiver duo of Cooper and Lamb to pair with restricted free agent Cedrick Wilson and a likely draft pick.

There’s a slim chance they actually do it, but if one player on this offense is going to be traded this spring, it’s going to be Michael Gallup.