It sounds like Amari Cooper is on his way back for the Dallas Cowboys, and he’ll resume his usual role in the offense opposite CeeDee Lamb. There’s still a debate to settle, however, and that’s who will serve as the third option in this passing attack. You can make an argument for both Michael Gallup and Dalton Schultz. In a vacuum, let’s make a case for which option you should consider in your fantasy football lineup.
Yes, I’m aware that Gallup is a wide receiver and Schultz is a tight end, but many leagues allow tight ends to be played as a flex. So, who’s the true third option?
Dalton Schultz has been a pleasant surprise
Let’s start with Schultz, who has built upon his performance last year to the tune of the overall TE3 in half-PPR scoring this season. He’s averaging 9.4 fantasy points per game while seeing 6 targets per outing. On the year, he has 537 receiving yards and 4 TDs.
In fantasy land, all it takes is a decent target share and the ability to occasionally find the end zone to be fantasy relevant as a tight end. Schultz has been exactly that. Considering him as a flex option, however, is a different story.
His 9.4 points per game in half-PPR would be only the 43rd-most points per game at the wide receiver position this year. Schultz has five games this season with double-digit fantasy points. But he has scored only 8.3 points or less in all of his other games, including three with 2.3 or fewer. Those games are essentially zeroes that can lose you a week.
At the tight end position, Schultz has streaming appeal, but he isn’t locked in as a weekly starter.
Michael Gallup has been inconsistent in his return
Since returning from injury three weeks ago, Gallup has looked like an important target in the Cowboys offense.
He has 23 targets in the last three games, but that’s been during a stretch in which both Lamb and Cooper have missed time. Two weeks ago, Gallup saw a healthy 10 targets, but he only caught 5 of them for 44 yards.
On Thanksgiving, Gallup led the Cooper- and Lamb-less Cowboys in receiving yards with 106 yards on 5 receptions, but he has yet to find the end zone.
Over the last three weeks, Gallup has averaged 8.6 fantasy points per game, slightly less than Schultz. And just like Schultz, he has given one startable fantasy performance, whereas his other two weeks negatively impacted your fantasy roster for the week.
Does it matter who acts as the Cowboys’ third option?
We haven’t seen a Dallas offense that has Cooper, Lamb, Gallup, Schultz, Ezekiel Elliott, and Tony Pollard all on the field at the same time since Week 1. Cooper and Lamb are going to continue to be heavy parts of this passing attack alongside a run game that features Elliott and Pollard.
Those four are the key components in the Cowboys’ offense and are the pieces of the puzzle that I trust as weekly starters. We know who Lamb and Cooper are (both average more than 7 targets per game), while Dallas produces the 11th-most rush attempts per game at 27.9 carries.
With everyone back on the field at the same time, it’s hard to imagine that both Gallup and Schultz will have the sustainable target shares required to make them weekly starters on fantasy rosters. Both appear to be touchdown/big play-dependent flex options as long as everyone else on the Dallas offense is healthy.