2019 Fantasy Football Breakout Candidate: Michael Gallup

WR Michael Gallup (Dallas Cowboys) | 2nd Year

2018 Stats: 33 receptions for 507 yards, 2 TD

Michael Gallup ended his rookie season with six catches (on nine targets) for 119 yards in the Cowboys’ Divisional Round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He scored a touchdown in the Wild Card Round against the Seahawks, and going back further he posted double-digit PPR fantasy points in three of the final five regular season games.

From Week 6 on last year, Gallup played more than 73 percent of Dallas’ offensive snaps in 10 of 11 games. He was upper tier in the league in yards per catch (15.4), average depth of target (13.8 yards) and yards after the catch (5.4), as 10 of his 33 catches went for 20-plus yards (with two more than went for 40-plus).

Over the final nine games of the season, in concert with Amari Cooper‘s arrival to the Cowboys, Gallup averaged 5.1 targets and 35.2 yards per game. That doesn’t sound like much, but he also had at least six targets in six of his final eight games last year (including playoffs).

Dallas signed Randall Cobb and Jason Witten is coming back, so Gallup’s status as a primary option in the passing game as he was late last season seems likely to erode. But Cobb will probably function primarily out of the slot, and Witten is sure to be on a limited snap count. In other words, they are no threat to Gallup’s role as a downfield weapon.

There’s a bigger concern for Gallup than any idea his role may be diminished. Via ESPN, 31 percent of his targets registered as off-target in 2018 (sixth-highest in the league). That seems like a rapport with Dak Prescott issue, though a catch rate at 50 percent or more in three of the last four games last year (counting the playoffs) is a positive sign.

Via Fantasy Football Calculator’s ADP, Gallup is currently WR66 (pick 14.11) in 12-team standard leagues and WR65 (pick 14.07) in 12-team PPR leagues. That’s clear late-round flier territory as an all-upside pick.

In terms of tabbing a breakout for Gallup this year, let’s put it somewhere near double his production from last year. That’s at the high end of his possible outcomes, but the second-year man out of Colorado State is in line to be draftable, rosterable and useful as a WR4 in 12-team leagues this year.

2019 Projection: 51 receptions for 724 yards, 5 TD

Breakout Confidence Level: 20%

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