Many believe that because he'll be two years removed from his ACL injury, Michael Gallup is more likely to get back to his original form next season. How does the arrival of Brandin Cooks now affect that? Will Cooks take some pressure off Gallup, allowing him to relax and play? Or is he going to take targets away from him, hampering his comeback, so to speak? – John Brett/Richmond, VA
Patrik: I think adding Cooks nearly recreates the situation you experienced when Amari Coper was in the building, wherein Gallup was mostly doing damage as WR3 (or, at times, as WR2B). The goal is for McCarthy to keep opposing defenses off-balance and that will mean seeing Cooks line up at all three positions at times, and that will make it tougher for (schematically) teams to key in on him and, even if they could, they won't be able to slide coverage help his way because of Lamb, Gallup and the tight end unit; so, yes, Cooks most certainly takes pressure off of Gallup but, and I want to be clear here, I believe the version of Gallup you'll see in 2023 will be the one who bullied defensive backs before suffering the torn ACL. There might be only one ball to throw around, but Dak Prescott has shown he can create a situation wherein three receivers sniff 1000 yards a piece.
Mickey: First of all, I'd expect a more confident Michael Gallup being further removed from his ACL repair. There is nothing wrong with his talent, and now there should be no more worries about his knee. This will be one of the more talented groups when the Cowboys go three wide, going back to the trio of Cooper, Lamb and Gallup for sure. Might even have more speed. Plus, Brandin Cooks is versatile enough to run out of the slot. Same with Lamb. So, his arrival certainly doesn't take away from anything Gallup can produce. This is exactly what the Cowboys needed for this offense. More juice.
