3 WRs Cowboys must pursue after scary Michael Gallup injury update

The Dallas Cowboys season ended without a conference championship appearance or a Super Bowl appearance once again. The Cowboys have now gone 27 years since their last conference championship and Super Bowl appearance in 1995.

And if there was ever a time for the Cowboys to break that drought it was this year. They had the talent on both sides of the ball to make a deep run in the postseason.

The defense played incredible in both the Divisional Round and the Wild Card Round. The Cowboys’ defense deserves a ton of credit for holding the 49ers’ offense in check throughout the game. The Cowboys’ defense held San Francisco to just one touchdown in the game, while Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk all had less than 56 yards from scrimmage.

But, the offense led by Dak Prescott really failed to help out the defense on Sunday. After a career performance against the Buccaneers,  Prescott struggled to carry that momentum into the Divisional Round. He threw for just 206 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

Of course, his two interceptions were critical mistakes in a big playoff game, especially the one late in the first half. His interceptions were a big problem all year, but Prescott really didn’t have the weapons on the outside to help his case.

CeeDee Lamb was fantastic as the true wide receiver one for the Cowboys. He logged 107 catches for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. But outside of him, Dallas’ wide receiver room looked quite bleak.

Noah Brown had just 43 catches for 555 yards and three touchdowns, Michael Gallup had 39 catches for 424 yards and four touchdowns and Jalen Tolbert added just two catches for 12 yards in his first year as a rookie. Also add in James Washington, who was cut after two apperances, and all four of those receivers didn’t even combine for 1,000 yards.

The Cowboys had a hard time supplying another weapon for Prescott, outside of Lamb. They tried to bring in T.Y. Hilton, but Dallas really wished they still had Amari Cooper. Cooper would have easily given the team another big-time weapon.

With Gallup now recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and ankle, Dallas can’t afford to be passive this offseason.

But the past is the past and the Cowboys will surely look to add wideouts to the offense. Here are three players that the team could go after this off-season: one from trade, one from free agency, and one from the draft.

Trade Option: 

3. DeAndre Hopkins

If Jerry Jones wants to do all he can to help out his $160 million quarterback, he’ll go after and acquire one of the game’s best wideouts.

At the conclusion of the season, it was reported that the Cardinals might be willing to move on and trade Hopkins, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz. With Arizona hiring a new head coach and general manager this off-season, they might look to get rid of older players and/or begin a rebuild.

Hopkins would be the perfect compliment to Lamb on the outside. These two stud wideouts with Prescott under center could really make this offense scarier than it already is. Of course, the Cowboys would need to figure out the money situation because the Cardinals’ wideout has the second-highest contract cap hit amongst wide receivers in the league.

Fans are still going to say that the Cowboys need a new quarterback in order to win a ring. But Prescott is here to stay and Dallas needs to help give him more weapons. If the Cowboys can get a 3x All-Pro wide receiver to go with Lamb, that could help the offense big time.

Also with Dan Quinn possibly landing in Arizona as the new head coach, maybe he can help his former team get a big star if they choose to trade him.

Free-Agent Option: 

2. Odell Beckham Jr.

The Cowboys were extremely interested in Beckham Jr. this past winter and the interest seemed to be mutual. Dallas held a visit for the three-time Pro Bowler in the first week of December and players like Trevon Diggs, Micah Parsons, and even Prescott were on board with a potential signing.

But with Beckham still recovering from his ACL tear, he was not ready to suit up for the Cowboys any time soon. With teams not taking a chance on Beckham yet, he decided to take the year off to recover and be back stronger for the 2023 season.

Assuming the interest is still there for both sides, Beckham could be the best free-agent wideout option for the Cowboys.

As a matter of fact, there aren’t many other free-agent wideouts that Dallas could target in a weak free-agent class. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jakobi Meyers, Marvin Jones, and DJ Chark are among other free-agent wideouts at the top. So, it seems as if Beckham would be the team’s best option in the market.

Beckham, a veteran at age 30, could add a lot to the outside for the Cowboys. He’ll give Prescott another guy to throw to and don’t forget what the wideout did for the Rams when they won the Super Bowl last year.

https://twitter.com/ramsnfl/status/1500932548846882821?s=42&t=wOlmQ4SjgQQXmfBvru8-yQ

He had nine catches for 113 yards in the NFC Conference Championship and added one touchdown on two catches for 52 yards in the Super Bowl. He was a big piece of the Rams and he can be a big add for the Cowboys, assuming he is back to full speed on the field.

Draft Option: 

1. Jordan Addison

The easiest way to get Prescott a weapon is to draft one early this April. In Mel Kiper Jr.’s recent mock draft, he had the Cowboys drafting Texas running back Bijan Robinson and while that would be a big boost for the offense, he might not make it to 26th overall in reality.

But if the Cowboys can grab one of the best wide receivers in this draft class, that could be a big plus for the offense and for Prescott. While it is still too early to speculate on where certain players will go at this moment, there have been different reports of what NFL scouts and analysts think of the current NFL wide receiver draft class.

So, if the Cowboys can grab a guy like 6-foot Jordan Addison to play with Lamb, America’s Team would have one of the best young duo wideouts in the league.

As a sophomore at Pittsburgh, Addison caught 100 passes for 1,593 yards and a whopping 17 touchdowns from Kenny Pickett. He then transferred to USC and had Caleb Williams throwing him passes in his junior season.

His 2022 college season wasn’t as impressive as his prior year — 59 catches for 875 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games — but the junior had some big games that showed his potential in the NFL. Addison had seven catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns in a game against Stanford and 11 catches for 178 yards and one touchdown later in the season facing UCLA.

Addison would give the Cowboys added speed and would also give the team a big deep-threat option for Prescott to connect with.

Surprise Michael Gallup injury update is frightening for Cowboys

Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup reportedly underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and ankle so that he's fully healthy for 2023.