DALLAS — There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the Dallas Cowboys' 2-0 start ahead of hosting the winless Miami Dolphins this Sunday. The Cowboys have a couple of wins against division rivals in the bank and will finally see DE Robert Quinn on the field after serving his two-game suspension to begin the season. Quinn will suit up in his Cowboys’ debut against the team that traded him to Dallas.
So while it will be nice for Dallas to see some talent added to the field, unfortunately for the Cowboys, they also won’t have second-year receiver Michael Gallup on Sunday.
Gallup has been on the rise with two solid efforts to begin the season after coming off a rookie year that saw him get better every week. He and Dak Prescott really started getting on the same page over the last calendar year, as evident by his 13 receptions and 226 yards in the season's first two weeks.
In Gallup's first season, including the playoffs, he hauled in 41 passes for 644 yards and three scores. Those aren't bad numbers for your number two option to begin with and it looked like Gallup was taking a huge leap in his second season.
Now, following an injury in Washington, Gallup will miss the next two to four weeks after having arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday.
The fortunate thing for this team is that they have depth at the position. The Cowboys believe in the next man up theory and it will be put to the test. This could just be another chapter in the comeback story of Devin Smith.
Smith joined the Cowboys after being waived in 2018 by the New York Jets who drafted him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He signed a futures contract with the Cowboys and fought his way onto the 53-man roster during the preseason. So far this season, Smith has three receptions for 74 yards which includes a 51-yard touchdown against Washington.
Smith is more than just a deep threat but that is his calling card, just as it was with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Smith is just one of the options to replace Gallup for the time being, but he is one that many are pulling for after his career was thought to be over following multiple ACL tears in the same knee.
Other than Smith, Randall Cobb could be called upon to replace some of Gallup's production. Cobb is a real threat from the slot but he also has played in that WR2 role opposite of Jordy Nelson while in Green Bay. With Dallas set with Amari Cooper manning the top wideout option, perhaps Cobb could slide over to the outside and take over Gallup's targets.
Other options include Tavon Austin, who has his own injury concerns having been placed in concussion protocol this past week. Then there is Cedrick Wilson who was just called up to the active roster with the Austin injury. Wilson has an opportunity to earn a few more snaps in the coming weeks and could carve out a role for himself after spending all of last season on the injured reserve list as a sixth round rookie.
Outside of the wide receivers, with Jason Witten back locking down the interior at tight end, Blake Jarwin could get some looks out wide. He is a big target who can be a matchup nightmare for most linebackers and too big for most corners to deal with his height. You can also expect to see plenty of action for running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in the passing game.
In addition to Gallup, the Cowboys will also be monitoring DT Antwaun Woods who left Sunday's game with a knee sprain and is currently listed as day to day. DE Tyrone Crawford is also nursing an achy hip that crops up from time to time. The return of Quinn should help the depth along the defensive line but the Cowboys would prefer to have all of their lineman wreaking havoc at the same time.
The Cowboys have talked glowingly about the depth they've built on this roster. They probably didn't expect that they would have to dip into it this quickly but we will see if the Cowboys' next man up theory proves a success over the next month.
Do you think the Cowboys will be able to fend off the injury bug to continue their early-season success? Share your thoughts on the depth chart with Patrick on Twitter @DraftCowboys.