Rising stars, core stars and exiting stage left

[Crown Royal]

Gallup is a WR2 here for 5-6 years because he is not replacing Cooper.
And let's be honest, Gallup needs to get better in every phase of playing the position.
He needs to recognize defenses better, needs to catch the ball better and he needs to get stronger with his route-running.

His double move deep attack is very similar to Taco's spin.
It was so effective in college he didn't need anything else but now he must add to his game.

His 48% catch rate was among the worst in the league and Cooper/Beasley both operated at ~70%.
That drop in percentage held the offense back as a whole.
Gallup has to function as a more reliable player next season as WR2 and he almost certainly will but nay fan trying to pass blame for Dak for his performance is simply wrong.
Dak not only has measurable with the other WRs which far exceed what he did with Gallup but his completion % are above average at every distance until you get to 45+ air yards and then barely dip below league average.
Gallup on the other hand has a low catch % at every level.

It catch rate 100% based on catchable balls, or is it targets vs. passes? If the latter, I think his catch rate is skewed because he was usually the target on those deep balls that failed to connect.

 

[jterrell]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not comparing the two players in terms of character. But after some early issues, Richardson looks to have put his bonehead days behind him. He looks to have receiver his wake up call.



Fair enough, but word was the Seattle very much wanted him back, Minnesota just outbid them. And he had 4.5 sacks in Minnesota from his defensive tackle position this year if I remember correctly. Meanwhile, Crawford got what? .5 more? Playing in an obvious pass rushing role?



Sure, he can "play 3 positions", but can he play any of them well? He certainly has no business being lined up at RDE, and only the biggest homer would argue otherwise. Is he great against the run? Nope. And worse if he's outside. Again, look at this most recent game, he was an embarrassment out there.

So essentially, we have a rotational guy that gives you a little juice as an interior pass rusher.

If Richardson hit FA this year He likely makes 8-9M per year quite easily.

If we cut TCraw he'd get paid 6-7M per year.

There is a very real value ot a guy that can play 3 spots and does so at a very passable starting level.
Is he an elite pass rusher? Nope.
Does he help that DL go with his versatility and effort every play? Yes.


Again, I'd be extending him to reduce his cap hit. But eating his cap hit isn't the end of the world by any means.
Add 2 years at 5M each year, flip this year's 7M to 1M and a 6M bonus.
Cap hit is ~4M or what we'd pay to cut him: 4.2M
Until we have some of the younger guys able to take his role I am fine with him.

 

[jrumann59]

Gallup is a WR2 here for 5-6 years because he is not replacing Cooper.
And let's be honest, Gallup needs to get better in every phase of playing the position.
He needs to recognize defenses better, needs to catch the ball better and he needs to get stronger with his route-running.

His double move deep attack is very similar to Taco's spin.
It was so effective in college he didn't need anything else but now he must add to his game.

His 48% catch rate was among the worst in the league and Cooper/Beasley both operated at ~70%.
That drop in percentage held the offense back as a whole.
Gallup has to function as a more reliable player next season as WR2 and he almost certainly will but nay fan trying to pass blame for Dak for his performance is simply wrong.
Dak not only has measurable with the other WRs which far exceed what he did with Gallup but his completion % are above average at every distance until you get to 45+ air yards and then barely dip below league average.
Gallup on the other hand has a low catch % at every level.

Gallup's Catch rate issue is more on Dak then on him. Some of those passes to him looked like the passes Dak threw to Dez last year. Gallup was a rookie that was asked to shoulder a large load. He and his QB need to work on things in the off season...

 

[jterrell]

It catch rate 100% based on catchable balls, or is it targets vs. passes? If the latter, I think his catch rate is skewed because he was usually the target on those deep balls that failed to connect.

Overall but that is a very, very low rate and his rate at each level was low.

He had a few bad drops and often was slightly off with his qb on route.

Again compare him to Cooper or Beasley and they are both 70%.
Cooper was obviously getting deeper targets as well and as a mid-season trade had far less time to get on same page with Dak--but does know how to read defenses.

Switzer and Beasley both spokje up about the "bad throw" by Dak targeting Gallup on the slant noting Dak was trying to save him a headache and implying he had to read the zone and sit down not run the slant.
Sight adjustments take time and most WRs develop over a few seasons.

 

[jterrell]

Gallup's Catch rate issue is more on Dak then on him. Some of those passes to him looked like the passes Dak threw to Dez last year. Gallup was a rookie that was asked to shoulder a large load. He and his QB need to work on things in the off season...

that is nonsense.

 

[jrumann59]

that is nonsense.

Ok, change Gallup's number to 88 and it would have looked like the mis-placed balls that were thrown in 2017. Close enough to be considered catchable but far enough off target that catching it would have been extraordinarily difficult

 

[jterrell]

Ok, change Gallup's number to 88 and it would have looked like the mis-placed balls that were thrown in 2017. Close enough to be considered catchable but far enough off target that catching it would have been extraordinarily difficult

Dez and Gallup are very different players with different issues.
Dez lacked the ability to create separation meaning his usefulness was mostly in contested situations and red zone.
Dez was limping around and not right. He signed late this year because it took time to get him right.

Gallup simply didn't run very good routes and had what he did do best as the lowest % throws in the game.
You are trying to compare Dez to Gallup which is silly but also ignoring the rest oi the WR roster this year and Dak versus the league in passing % at each level.

His catch % was 5th worst of anyone with 43 or more targets.

If anything credit Dak for going to him over and over allowing him chances to develop.
The only player on the roster wiht a lower catch % was Rico Gathers.
Beasley who has the catch radius of a typical 5'8" dude was at 74%.
Cooper was over 70% even though he was the 2nd most targeted deep threat.

Tavon Austin who is not a real WR was at 61.5%

There are things that are silly and this is one.
Dak isn't to blame for a rookie WR not catching more than 50% of his targets.
Wanna blame Dak for 6-7 of those targets? Ok, sure but Gallup was targeted 68 times and only had 33 receptions.

 

[Stash]

If Richardson hit FA this year He likely makes 8-9M per year quite easily.

If we cut TCraw he'd get paid 6-7M per year.

There is a very real value ot a guy that can play 3 spots and does so at a very passable starting level.
Is he an elite pass rusher? Nope.
Does he help that DL go with his versatility and effort every play? Yes.

Is "passable" worth what Crawford costs? It's not to me. I'd rather spend the money on a guy who was actually very good at one position and leave him there, like Richardson.

Again, I'd be extending him to reduce his cap hit. But eating his cap hit isn't the end of the world by any means.
Add 2 years at 5M each year, flip this year's 7M to 1M and a 6M bonus.
Cap hit is ~4M or what we'd pay to cut him: 4.2M
Until we have some of the younger guys able to take his role I am fine with him.

I'm not dead set on cutting him, I just want to see the days of him being overpaid gone.

 

[Bobhaze]

Rising Stars (young stars still rising)
1. Leighton Vander Esch
2. Amari Cooper --24/25 at WR is just not hitting peak. Might content to lead league next year in yardage.
3. Jaylon Smith
4. Michael Gallup -- Awesome overall athletic and positional skills. Needs to learn nuances of NFL and the offense specifically.
5. Dak --Both a rising star who is still improving and a core piece
6. CWill -- Had a few rough moments versus massive dudes inside but movement skills are elite for an OG and he reminds me a lot of Travis Frederick.

Faithful Core Stars (Players the team is committed to and built around)
1. Ezekiel Elliott --Elite player that is key to what we do. We need to be smarter with how we use him and how he rests IMHO.
2. Tyron Smith --Injury bug is hitting him but he is still elite when healthy. Was dominate late.
3. Dak Prescott --Both a rising star who is still improving and a core piece
4. Zack Martin --Best OG in league and might not improve because he is the ceiling.
5. Byron Jones --Teams avoided him much of the season and he's just learning this CB technique.
6. Travis Frederick --Prolly should bump down but like Jaylon you don't bet against dudes with this much character and love for the game.He starts week 1.
7. Chidobe Awuzie --Already a solid CB2 and could move up but this level he can maintain for a 5-6 year stretch given his physical tools.
8. Anthony Brown --Quality depth CB who battles and will make plays on occasion.
9. Xavier Woods --Young safety may never be elite but he's a quality starting safety and should be one long term.

Exiting Stage Left-(Players we will say goodbye to in 2019)
1. Cole Beasley- All comes down to cost. This is Beasley's last contract and he will want to get paid of course. Would LOVE Cole back on a 6-7M deal.
2. Sean Lee- Would be take a lesser role and salary? Not likely but perhaps it can be finessed along.
3. Damien Wilson- LB market has been nuts recently and he is likely looking for a full-time starting role.
4. David Irving- Can't fix want to. Hoping some team offers him large money to save us form ourselves here.
5. Tavon Austin- Was a good attempt to add team speed but too limited in what he can do and with Cooper and Gallup WR speed isn't really an issue.
6. Rico Gathers- Looks like an OT trying to play TE when receiving and a TE trying to play OT when blocking.
7. Terrance Williams- Gave us nothing when he badly needing something. As a Dallas area kid always hoped best for him but a final season off in guaranteed money retirement was a bad goodbye.

Question Marks
1. Demarcus Law --Stud in every sense but if he wants top 3 DE money that's a really tough call.
2. Allen Hurns- Tough, tough deal. Great team dude but costs is high and performance was mediocre.
3. Geoff Swaim- Starting TE earn a lot of money and he's not likely to get that here.
4. Taco Charlton- Best position is SDE. If DLaw walks he likely is a starter but if DLaw signs long term he is basically a forever back up.
5. Randy Gregory- Still really more a pass rush guy than every down player but has added size and strength. A full and fully available off-season here might see him truly soar.
6. Jourdan Lewis- is he trade bait or a keeper if we can’t keep Byron Jones?
7. La'el Collins- Quality RT but not worth elite money and if you have a R2 and Cam Fleming at RT you may want to do that and get OL spending under control.
8. Jeff Heath- Can you find an upgrade in draft or FA? He's a great team dude who has outplayed any expectation but he is not a plus starting Safety and is likely maxed out.

Some good work here. I disagree with you though on Xavier Woods. IMO, he’s ok but wouldn’t start for most teams in the league.

 

[Nexx]

I'm thinking that this is one of the very largest question marks on the team at present:

1. Tyron Smith- the back injury won’t get better and now has knee and elbow problems. Is he in free fall?

Dak Prescott deserves for the outside of the offensive line to be very strong.

He deserves?! How so? Cause he carries this team so much that he deserves it?! You gotta be freakin kidding me. Not sure why an average mediocre QB gets this much love from some of our fans. He also needs a elite running game, elite WR, elite Defense, best coaches to be successful. Give me a freakin break.

 

[Bobhaze]

Is "passable" worth what Crawford costs? It's not to me. I'd rather spend the money on a guy who was actually very good at one position and leave him there, like Richardson.




I'm not dead set on cutting him, I just want to see the days of him being overpaid gone.

Yeah, I’m not completely opposed to Crawford being here. Just not at his current price.

 

[Rockport]

As we begin to sift through the end of this season and look forward to next season, here’s an early assessment of our roster for next year. Who’s a rising star, who the core is and who will probably be leaving.

Rising Stars (young stars still rising)
1. Leighton Vander Esch- he’s 21 and maybe the cornerstone of a great D for years to come.
2. Michael Gallup- came on like gangbusters late in season. He's a solid #2 receiver and still improving.
3. Jaylon Smith- became what we hoped he would be and he’s still getting better.
4. Amari Cooper- can’t believe he’s just 24. A stud we must sign.
5. Dorrance Armstrong- a surprisingly good 4th rounder who I think will emerge as a possible starter in 2019.

Faithful Core Stars (Players the team is committed to and built around)
1. Ezekiel Elliott- best player on the team
2. DeMarcus Law-sign the man
3. Dak Prescott- he needs a lot of coaching, and yes, he’s not great. But you can win with him.
4. Zack Martin- best G in NFL
5. Byron Jones- now a star at CB- can we keep him?
6. Travis Frederick- best C in NFL before Barre Syndrome afflicted him- is he still great?
7. Chidobe Awuzie- emerged this year. Solid if not spectacular.
8. Amari Cooper- I listed him above as a rising star because he’s 24, but he’s also part of the core.

Exiting Stage Left-(Players we will say goodbye to in 2019)
1. Cole Beasley- he’s not a top 25 WR in this league and will be 30.
2. Sean Lee- Once the cornerstone of the defense, he can no longer be counted on because of injuries.
3. Damien Wilson- decent LB and ST player who can be replaced in draft for less money.
4. Tyrone Crawford- solid player who’s been a leader. But he’s too expensive and often injured.
5. David Irving- you can’t fix crazy.
6. Brett Maher- anytime the word “unreliable” is associated with a K....
7. Tavon Austin- too expensive, too fragile.
8. Rico “the Legend” Gathers- the future HOFer can’t catch a cold or remember plays.
9. Terrance Williams- who?

Question Marks
1. Tyron Smith- the back injury won’t get better and now has knee and elbow problems. Is he in free fall?
2. Allen Hurns- even before his gruesome injury, he was underwhelming.
3. Geoff Swaim- decent but often hurt
4. Taco Charleton- the bust term is creeping in
5. Randy Gregory- showed flashes of brilliance but is always one drug test away from a ban
6. Blake Jarwin- came on at the end of year. But is he really that good?
7. Jourdan Lewis- is he trade bait or a keeper if we can’t keep Byron Jones?

Who’s on your list? You can’t keep everyone.

Antuan “Don’t Blink” Woods the Human Log only gets props from Nate.

 

[rags747]

As we begin to sift through the end of this season and look forward to next season, here’s an early assessment of our roster for next year. Who’s a rising star, who the core is and who will probably be leaving.

Rising Stars (young stars still rising)
1. Leighton Vander Esch- he’s 21 and maybe the cornerstone of a great D for years to come.
2. Michael Gallup- came on like gangbusters late in season. He's a solid #2 receiver and still improving.
3. Jaylon Smith- became what we hoped he would be and he’s still getting better.
4. Amari Cooper- can’t believe he’s just 24. A stud we must sign.
5. Dorrance Armstrong- a surprisingly good 4th rounder who I think will emerge as a possible starter in 2019.

Faithful Core Stars (Players the team is committed to and built around)
1. Ezekiel Elliott- best player on the team
2. DeMarcus Law-sign the man
3. Dak Prescott- he needs a lot of coaching, and yes, he’s not great. But you can win with him.
4. Zack Martin- best G in NFL
5. Byron Jones- now a star at CB- can we keep him?
6. Travis Frederick- best C in NFL before Barre Syndrome afflicted him- is he still great?
7. Chidobe Awuzie- emerged this year. Solid if not spectacular.
8. Amari Cooper- I listed him above as a rising star because he’s 24, but he’s also part of the core.

Exiting Stage Left-(Players we will say goodbye to in 2019)
1. Cole Beasley- he’s not a top 25 WR in this league and will be 30.
2. Sean Lee- Once the cornerstone of the defense, he can no longer be counted on because of injuries.
3. Damien Wilson- decent LB and ST player who can be replaced in draft for less money.
4. Tyrone Crawford- solid player who’s been a leader. But he’s too expensive and often injured.
5. David Irving- you can’t fix crazy.
6. Brett Maher- anytime the word “unreliable” is associated with a K....
7. Tavon Austin- too expensive, too fragile.
8. Rico “the Legend” Gathers- the future HOFer can’t catch a cold or remember plays.
9. Terrance Williams- who?

Question Marks
1. Tyron Smith- the back injury won’t get better and now has knee and elbow problems. Is he in free fall?
2. Allen Hurns- even before his gruesome injury, he was underwhelming.
3. Geoff Swaim- decent but often hurt
4. Taco Charleton- the bust term is creeping in
5. Randy Gregory- showed flashes of brilliance but is always one drug test away from a ban
6. Blake Jarwin- came on at the end of year. But is he really that good?
7. Jourdan Lewis- is he trade bait or a keeper if we can’t keep Byron Jones?

Who’s on your list? You can’t keep everyone.

Gregory belongs in group 1.

 

[jterrell]

Some good work here. I disagree with you though on Xavier Woods. IMO, he’s ok but wouldn’t start for most teams in the league.

That's probably fair but you have to have cap relief somewhere and Woods is arguably the best value on the defensive side of the ball for DAL over the next couple seasons.

 

[jterrell]

Dez and Gallup are very different players with different issues.
Dez lacked the ability to create separation meaning his usefulness was mostly in contested situations and red zone.
Dez was limping around and not right. He signed late this year because it took time to get him right.

Gallup simply didn't run very good routes and had what he did do best as the lowest % throws in the game.
You are trying to compare Dez to Gallup which is silly but also ignoring the rest oi the WR roster this year and Dak versus the league in passing % at each level.

His catch % was 5th worst of anyone with 43 or more targets.

If anything credit Dak for going to him over and over allowing him chances to develop.
The only player on the roster wiht a lower catch % was Rico Gathers.
Beasley who has the catch radius of a typical 5'8" dude was at 74%.
Cooper was over 70% even though he was the 2nd most targeted deep threat.

Tavon Austin who is not a real WR was at 61.5%

There are things that are silly and this is one.
Dak isn't to blame for a rookie WR not catching more than 50% of his targets.
Wanna blame Dak for 6-7 of those targets? Ok, sure but Gallup was targeted 68 times and only had 33 receptions.

 

[OmerV]

As we begin to sift through the end of this season and look forward to next season, here’s an early assessment of our roster for next year. Who’s a rising star, who the core is and who will probably be leaving.

Rising Stars (young stars still rising)
1. Leighton Vander Esch- he’s 21 and maybe the cornerstone of a great D for years to come.
2. Michael Gallup- came on like gangbusters late in season. He's a solid #2 receiver and still improving.
3. Jaylon Smith- became what we hoped he would be and he’s still getting better.
4. Amari Cooper- can’t believe he’s just 24. A stud we must sign.
5. Dorrance Armstrong- a surprisingly good 4th rounder who I think will emerge as a possible starter in 2019.

Faithful Core Stars (Players the team is committed to and built around)
1. Ezekiel Elliott- best player on the team
2. DeMarcus Law-sign the man
3. Dak Prescott- he needs a lot of coaching, and yes, he’s not great. But you can win with him.
4. Zack Martin- best G in NFL
5. Byron Jones- now a star at CB- can we keep him?
6. Travis Frederick- best C in NFL before Barre Syndrome afflicted him- is he still great?
7. Chidobe Awuzie- emerged this year. Solid if not spectacular.
8. Amari Cooper- I listed him above as a rising star because he’s 24, but he’s also part of the core.

Exiting Stage Left-(Players we will say goodbye to in 2019)
1. Cole Beasley- he’s not a top 25 WR in this league and will be 30.
2. Sean Lee- Once the cornerstone of the defense, he can no longer be counted on because of injuries.
3. Damien Wilson- decent LB and ST player who can be replaced in draft for less money.
4. Tyrone Crawford- solid player who’s been a leader. But he’s too expensive and often injured.
5. David Irving- you can’t fix crazy.
6. Brett Maher- anytime the word “unreliable” is associated with a K....
7. Tavon Austin- too expensive, too fragile.
8. Rico “the Legend” Gathers- the future HOFer can’t catch a cold or remember plays.
9. Terrance Williams- who?

Question Marks
1. Tyron Smith- the back injury won’t get better and now has knee and elbow problems. Is he in free fall?
2. Allen Hurns- even before his gruesome injury, he was underwhelming.
3. Geoff Swaim- decent but often hurt
4. Taco Charleton- the bust term is creeping in
5. Randy Gregory- showed flashes of brilliance but is always one drug test away from a ban
6. Blake Jarwin- came on at the end of year. But is he really that good?
7. Jourdan Lewis- is he trade bait or a keeper if we can’t keep Byron Jones?

Who’s on your list? You can’t keep everyone.

I agree with most of this. I'm not sure what it takes to fall in the "Question Mark" category. If it is simply that we don't yet know how good a player will be, I would agree with Blake Jarwin being there. If it is that there is some question about whether a player will be back next year, I would disagree with Jarwin being there. If nothing else he has at least shown enough to be retained, whether as a starter, rotational player or a backup. Since they are still on their rookie contract, Taco and Gregory will also be kept, although I agree with your assessment of them.