Adding Brandin Cooks to the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver room was a savvy signing by owner and general manager Jerry Jones this past offseason. While the Cowboys are the fifth stop in the 10 years that Cooks has played in the league, the speedy wide receiver has amassed over 8,600 yards and 49 touchdowns in his NFL career.
But Cooks’ start in Dallas hasn’t been exciting quite yet. And the wide receiver is now nursing an MCL injury that puts his status for Sunday in question. What is the latest news on Cooks? And if he can’t go, is there an alternate starter on the Cowboys for our fantasy football teams?
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Latest Injury News Surrounding Cooks
Cooks had a slow start to 2023. While the Cowboys were able to stomp the rival New York Giants 40-0 in Week 1 last Sunday night, Cooks was only able to catch two passes on four targets for 22 yards. He was in on only 59% of Dallas’ offensive snaps.
MORE: Fantasy Football IR Week 2 Injury Report
However, the game is a hard one to judge. The Cowboys were beating up the Giants so quickly and soundly that the passing game wasn’t really necessary. With the New York Jets coming to town in Week 2, I expect a more competitive matchup where Dak Prescott will be throwing a bit more.
But with an MCL injury keeping Cooks from practice all week, the receiver is questionable for Sunday’s matchup. The wideout was unable to participate in practice again on Friday, giving him no reps as the Cowboys game plan for the Jets. Even if Cooks does find a way to suit up, he will clearly not be 100% at kickoff.
With the slow start to the season and the injury Cooks is facing, there are too many questions surrounding the Dallas wideout, and it’s probably best to plan on sitting him for Week 2 in your fantasy lineups. Even if he suited up, I wouldn’t expect much production with a hobbled knee and a stellar Jets defense that he will have to face. The work is completely cut out for Cooks on this one.
Should You Start Michael Gallup?
With Cooks potentially not playing or having to play injured, Michael Gallup could be in line to see some more action on Sunday for Dallas. The sixth-year pro saw only two targets in Week 1 for the Cowboys and had one catch for 10 yards. But, again, this was not a game where Dallas needed to throw the ball often.
Gallup was a promising prospect when he entered the league, but injury-riddled seasons and strong competition on offense have stopped him from being a superstar, let alone a consistent producer.
It’s certainly a shame considering Gallup was able to tally 1,107 yards and six touchdowns in his sophomore season with Dallas. Many experts thought he was becoming the next great Cowboys wideout after 2019.
But over three years removed from his stellar second year, Gallup has had back-to-back seasons under 500 total receiving yards. Other weapons have supplanted him in the offense, and he’s no longer one of Dallas’ top threats.
But could Cooks missing Sunday’s contest make Gallup a start? In another matchup, it would have been possible. But I don’t trust any of the Cowboys receivers outside of CeeDee Lamb against the stout Jets secondary. This is a defensive unit that had three interceptions and a fumble recovery against the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen on Monday night. They do not give up points easily.
For now, we’ll have to wait and see if Cooks returns to the lineup for Dallas. But with an injury hobbling him and a tough matchup for either wide receiver, Cooks and Gallup are likely not viable options for Week 2.