Does Michael Gallup Fit With The Chicago Bears?

With the NFL offseason officially underway, the rumors begin churning throughout the nation. Who will the Chicago Bears target this offseason and what are their biggest needs? It goes without saying that the Bears are in need of a wide receiver. If Allen Robinson bids the Bears adieu, does Michael Gallup become the biggest draw for Chicago?

Jeremy Fowler and Matt Bowen of ESPN believe the Bears will be in the market for a top-tier wide receiver and that’s highly likely. They collectively wrote that Gallup could be a great fit in Chicago. Could this be a potential fix to the problem at hand? Possibly.

Gallup is a certified playmaker with incredible athletic ability. He can most definitely add an extra weapon for Justin Fields to work with, as seen below.

Michael Gallup Stats

In four years with the Dallas Cowboys, Michael Gallup has played in 55 games. During that span, he caught 193 out of 348 passes. Gallup notched nearly 3,000 receiving yards in that time and scored 15 touchdowns. The numbers sound decent, but let’s break it down even further.

Gallup’s best season came in 2019. In 14 games, he recorded career-highs in catches (66), yards (1,107), and touchdowns (6). This was an impressive year for Gallup especially considering he only played in 14 games. But when compared to his other three seasons, it’s a bit concerning. Why in the two seasons he played the full 16 games — 2018 and 2020 — were his numbers so drastically lower?

Well, he was a rookie in 2018 and only started eight games. Given the other weapons among a pretty potent Dallas offense, this is understandable. However, that doesn’t explain 2020. He started 15 games but played in all 16. He was close in catches and touchdowns with 59 grabs for five scores but his yardage total was nearly 300 less than his 2019 mark. Was 2019 an outlier? Did Michael Gallup already peak in his young career?

Does He Fit With The Chicago Bears?

Let’s not go that far just yet since he’s only 25 years old and the future is always uncertain. But Gallup could be a good fit in Chicago. He’s a fast receiver who has the ability to take the top off a defense. We already know that Justin Fields can throw the deep ball. If you remove Allen Robinson and leave Fields with only Darnell Mooney, does the deep ball pose a significant threat? Not really.

Adding Michael Gallup to the mix could give the Chicago Bears that extra burst to become a more dynamic offense. This doesn’t mean they’re going to chuck the ball like Patrick Mahomes on every other play. But it does mean the Bears will have options that force opposing defenses to develop a plan, at the very least, for a multi-layered attack.

If Gallup can bring more of this to Chicago, the marriage makes sense.

The need is there and the player is as well. What GM Ryan Poles decides to do is the next question. We may not know for a while, as this is all early offseason speculation so far. But the Bears’ needs are no secret. Beefing up the offensive line and giving Fields more weapons to ‘put the players in the best possible position to succeed’ is of the utmost importance.