Breaking down the Dallas Cowboys depth chart at wide receiver

Will be in the rotation heavily: Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert

The Dallas Cowboys chose Michael Gallup over Amari Cooper, which was certainly...a choice. Gallup had one really good season back in 2019 when he racked up over 1,100 yards, 6 touchdowns, and nearly 17 yards per reception. He hasn't even eclipsed 450 yards receiving in either of the last two seasons, however, and is clearly a role player whose role is up for grabs at this point in time.

Gallup is going to have a tough time fending off Jalen Tolbert, a third-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2022 NFL Draft who looks to be having a tremendous training camp and preseason thus far in 2023.

It probably wouldn't be right to sit here and say that Tolbert is going to be the second-coming of Terrell Owens or anything, but there is a tremendous amount of talent here with Tolbert on top of his size and athletic ability. The Cowboys likely feel very confident with this group of four receivers with positioning them anywhere in the offense -- inside the slot or outside -- and being able to maximize any one-on-one matchup.

And his abilities in one-on-one coverage could land Tolbert a significantly expanded role in his second NFL season. He's got outstanding ball skills and strong hands at the catch point. And look at the body control he showed here...

Expectations for Michael Gallup, on the other hand, have been reset to the point that I don't even know what people are really expecting from him. There seems to be that dreaded "if he's healthy" qualifier for sure, but Gallup was on a pretty great trajectory as a WR2 or WR3 before his injury.

If he is fully healthy, he should be able to notch another 75-90 targets in the passing game and, at least for now, fend off Jalen Tolbert for WR3 duties.