The Raiders are taking a flyer on Michael Gallup, but on a speculative deal. I don’t think there’s any chance of him getting back to where he was prior to the ACL injury he suffered in 2021.
Gallup at one time looked like an above-average deep threat. He caught 66 passes for 1,107 yards and 6 TDs in 2019, averaging 16.8 yards per catch. The Cowboys thought enough of him that even after his ACL surgery, they signed him to a five-year extension worth $62.5 million. But he never saw most of that money, and now the Raiders have him at one year for $1.75 million, as he tries to work his way back.
But as poorly as Gallup has played the last two years, I’m not sure he’ll even make Las Vegas’ final roster. It’s iffy hoping on him to be anything more than a lesser third receiver. Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers are locked in as starters, and I don’t think they’ll be using many three-receiver sets anyway (with them holding a pair of up-and-coming tight ends).
Since his injury, Gallup has caught fewer than 40 passes in back-to-back seasons and averaged only 11.1 yards per catch. The Cowboys have thrown 58 touchdown passes in the last two years, and he’s caught only 6 of them.
Gallup was outplayed at times by Noah Brown in 2022, and he ended up sharing time with Jalen Tolbert last year as a third option behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks.
Gallup seems to have lost some burst, and his hands are iffy. Even back during his one big season, he had 11 drops. Since coming back from his injury, 64 wide receivers have seen at least 100 targets, and Gallup has the worst drop rate of all of them.
I’ve got him down as a hard pass.
| WIDE RECEIVER DROP RATES (last 2 yrs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Tot | Rec | Drop | Pct |
| 1. | Nico Collins | 147 | 117 | 3 | 2.5% |
| 2. | Justin Jefferson | 233 | 196 | 6 | 3.0% |
| 3. | Keenan Allen | 218 | 174 | 7 | 3.9% |
| 4. | Rashid Shaheed | 104 | 74 | 3 | 3.9% |
| 5. | Chris Godwin | 237 | 187 | 8 | 4.1% |
| 6. | Jordan Addison | 108 | 70 | 3 | 4.1% |
| 7. | Tyler Lockett | 208 | 163 | 7 | 4.1% |
| 8. | Michael Pittman | 261 | 208 | 9 | 4.1% |
| 9. | Jakobi Meyers | 177 | 138 | 6 | 4.2% |
| 10. | George Pickens | 161 | 115 | 5 | 4.2% |
| 11. | Cooper Kupp | 172 | 134 | 6 | 4.3% |
| 12. | Wan'Dale Robinson | 102 | 83 | 4 | 4.6% |
| 13. | CeeDee Lamb | 294 | 242 | 12 | 4.7% |
| 14. | Drake London | 185 | 141 | 7 | 4.7% |
| 15. | Terry McLaurin | 212 | 156 | 8 | 4.9% |
| 16. | Zay Flowers | 108 | 77 | 4 | 4.9% |
| 17. | Adam Thielen | 209 | 173 | 9 | 4.9% |
| 18. | Amon-Ra St. Brown | 274 | 225 | 12 | 5.1% |
| 19. | Curtis Samuel | 160 | 126 | 7 | 5.3% |
| 20. | Jerry Jeudy | 159 | 121 | 7 | 5.5% |
| 21. | Brandon Aiyuk | 190 | 153 | 9 | 5.6% |
| 22. | A.J. Brown | 251 | 194 | 12 | 5.8% |
| 23. | Tyler Boyd | 159 | 125 | 8 | 6.0% |
| 24. | DeAndre Hopkins | 206 | 139 | 9 | 6.1% |
| 25. | K.J. Osborn | 137 | 108 | 7 | 6.1% |
| 26. | Diontae Johnson | 180 | 137 | 9 | 6.2% |
| 27. | Garrett Wilson | 256 | 178 | 12 | 6.3% |
| 28. | Marquise Brown | 172 | 118 | 8 | 6.3% |
| 29. | DJ Moore | 206 | 159 | 11 | 6.5% |
| 30. | Darnell Mooney | 103 | 71 | 5 | 6.6% |
| 31. | Mike Evans | 217 | 156 | 11 | 6.6% |
| 32. | Brandin Cooks | 143 | 111 | 8 | 6.7% |
| 33. | Elijah Moore | 143 | 96 | 7 | 6.8% |
| 34. | DeVonta Smith | 215 | 176 | 13 | 6.9% |
| 35. | Davante Adams | 282 | 203 | 15 | 6.9% |
| 36. | Stefon Diggs | 276 | 215 | 16 | 6.9% |
| 37. | JuJu Smith-Schuster | 131 | 107 | 8 | 7.0% |
| 38. | Jaylen Waddle | 186 | 147 | 11 | 7.0% |
| 39. | Christian Kirk | 176 | 141 | 11 | 7.2% |
| 40. | Calvin Ridley | 136 | 76 | 6 | 7.3% |
| 41. | Chris Olave | 217 | 159 | 13 | 7.6% |
| 42. | Josh Palmer | 139 | 110 | 9 | 7.6% |
| 43. | Alec Pierce | 109 | 73 | 6 | 7.6% |
| 44. | Tyreek Hill | 298 | 238 | 20 | 7.8% |
| 45. | JaMarr Chase | 243 | 187 | 16 | 7.9% |
| 46. | Robert Woods | 132 | 93 | 8 | 7.9% |
| 47. | DK Metcalf | 216 | 156 | 14 | 8.2% |
| 48. | Deebo Samuel | 154 | 116 | 11 | 8.7% |
| 49. | Rashee Rice | 102 | 79 | 8 | 9.2% |
| 50. | Josh Reynolds | 106 | 78 | 8 | 9.3% |
| 51. | Darius Slayton | 132 | 96 | 10 | 9.4% |
| 52. | Rondale Moore | 109 | 81 | 9 | 10.0% |
| 53. | Noah Brown | 104 | 76 | 9 | 10.6% |
| 54. | Allen Lazard | 115 | 83 | 10 | 10.8% |
| 55. | Zay Jones | 159 | 116 | 14 | 10.8% |
| 56. | Courtland Sutton | 163 | 123 | 15 | 10.9% |
| 57. | Puka Nacua | 160 | 105 | 13 | 11.0% |
| 58. | Amari Cooper | 218 | 150 | 19 | 11.2% |
| 59. | Gabe Davis | 138 | 93 | 12 | 11.4% |
| 60. | Tee Higgins | 158 | 116 | 15 | 11.5% |
| 61. | Jahan Dotson | 124 | 84 | 11 | 11.6% |
| 62. | DJ Chark | 101 | 65 | 9 | 12.2% |
| 63. | Romeo Doubs | 147 | 101 | 15 | 12.9% |
| 64. | Michael Gallup | 102 | 73 | 11 | 13.1% |
—Ian Allan