Michael Gallup’s first NFL touchdown came against the now-Washington Commanders. Life has now come full circle for the recently unretired wide receiver.
In 2018, the rookie out of Colorado State sprinted past cornerback Greg Stroman on a go route and hauled in a 49-yard scoring pass from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. That was the beginning of a two-year run which saw the wideout catch 16 balls at better than 16 yards per catch and four touchdowns against Washington.
It culminated in the final game of 2019. Gallup hauled in three touchdowns as the Cowboys blew Washington off the field.
On the first, he skied over Aaron Colvin to secure a short fade. Then, Gallup demonstrated his open-field prowess, breaking a Jeremy Reaves' tackle and sprinting past the entire defense for a 32-yard score. Finally, he turned a simple in-route into a 40-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Commanders will give Michael Gallup the chance to compete this summer
Now, Gallup will be wearing a Commanders' uniform. The wide receiver, who surprised the Las Vegas Raiders with his sudden retirement just before the 2024 preseason, has returned to play for Dan Quinn in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense.
How will Washington’s former nemesis fit into the Commanders’ offense? That is largely dependent on his health and his head.
The Commanders’ biggest deficiency at wideout is deep speed. Washington’s undisputed alpha, Terry McLaurin, has plenty of it. However, he is such a versatile weapon that wearing him out on deep balls may not be the wisest strategy.
Newly-acquired Deebo Samuel Sr. is not going to scare opposing defenses with his speed. Luke McCaffrey is also more effective in getting open over intermediate zones. None of the tight ends are burners.
Apart from the second-team All-Pro, Noah Brown was Washington’s best deep threat before signing Gallup. Now, it looks as if they will be battling it out for the Z receiver spot, with McLaurin at X, McCaffrey in the slot, and Samuel lining up everywhere.
That doesn’t mean both Gallup and Brown won't be on the final roster. Having two rotational receivers who can get deep would give Kingsbury more options than he had in 2024. Simply having one of them on the field stretches opposing defenses, opening up the middle for the Commanders' wealth of skilled intermediate pass catchers.
Best of all, it prevents defenses from cheating up to the line of scrimmage to clog scrambling lanes for quarterback Jayden Daniels. Gallup creates space on the field, and the signal-caller flourishes the more space he has.
That is dependent on whether Gallup can still perform near the 2019 level that terrorized Washington. Hopefully, the Commanders' connection to Dallas, through coaches Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. give them a complete picture of where the wideout is heading into the 2025 season.
Tyler Biadasz played on the Dallas offense with Gallup for three seasons. Defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. came into the league with the pass-catcher, selected by the Cowboys one round after in 2018.
After three solid seasons to begin his career, 2021 turned into a disaster. Gallup was hurt early and he was hurt late. The late-season ACL tear slowed his progress in 2022 as well.
By 2023, he was beginning to show signs of improvement, which is what led the Raiders to offer him a deal in the 2024 offseason. Gallup was slotted to compete for a position behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers. His abrupt retirement ended those plans.
During his final two seasons in Dallas, Gallup did not look as explosive as he had been in his early years. But he showed solid straight-line speed. He always tracked long throws very well and ran efficient routes. He was dangerous in the open field. Speed mattered, but it wasn’t what made him a dangerous deep threat. Losing half-a-step may not affect him very much.
Losing a full step in another story.
The Commanders will have plenty of time to see what Gallup has left. With Brown in the fold, this becomes a low-risk gamble.
If Brown shows he is a better deep target, Washington hasn’t sacrificed anything. On the other hand, if Gallup is at all close to the rookie who burned Stroman seven years ago, they may have added a great deal to an already explosive offense.