Devy Profile: Michael Gallup, WR Colorado State

Position: Wide Receiver

School: Colorado State

Year: Senior

Birthday: 3/4/96 (21.7 years old)

Listed height: 6’1”

Listed weight: 200

Somehow, college football’s leading receiver is flying under the radar.

Colorado State wide receiver Michael Gallup has torn up the NCAA but has gotten shockingly little love. The biggest knock on him is his lack of experience – Gallup is a 21-year-old senior with just one and a half seasons of college production. His road to becoming one of the best receivers in college football this season illuminates why he’s a lesser-known prospect.

When you watch Gallup play, his athleticism is evident. His production matches his natural ability. Why, then, does he only have a season and a half of counting stats at the D1 level?

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Background

Gallup wasn’t a top recruit out of high school; he was a three-star recruit, rated as the 192nd-best wide receiver in the 2014 recruiting class by 247Sports. He received offers from five schools – East Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, N.C. State, and Western Kentucky – but his poor grades caused him to go the JUCO route first instead.

Gallup then spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons playing at Butler County Community College before committing to Colorado State in January of 2016.

Following his breakout performance last year, the biggest knock on Gallup was his lack of experience. There were questions of whether or not he would be able to repeat his performance for a second consecutive season. With just one season of D1 FBS experience, he wisely chose to return to school, correctly assuming that he could benefit from fine-tuning his skills at the collegiate level before making the jump to the NFL.

Tape

Gallup is a terrific athlete. His fluidity and explosiveness is evident, as he’s one of the best big-play receivers in this class. A supreme downfield threat, Gallup also excels after the catch with the ball in his hands by pairing his speed with his signature spin move. Per PFF, Gallup would have led the 2016 draft class (if he declared) in yards per route run, with 4.34. He also successfully moved the chains or scored on 47.5% of his receptions, which ranked sixth in the nation among receivers with at least 50 receptions. Gallup has great hands, and he’s fantastic in contested catch situations.

In 2016, Gallup was somewhat inconsistent as a route runner. At his best, he ran crisp routes with clean cuts and seamlessly incorporated double moves into his game; at his worst, he rounded off routes without similar polish. The ability was there – he simply needed more practice. This season, Gallup has upped his game significantly, and is now one of the better route runners of his size in this draft class.

Matt Harmon of NFL.com has done incredible work charting collegiate wide receivers in recent years for his Reception Perception project. One aspect of these games he tracks is the alignment of these wideouts, which has been an interesting part of my evaluation process.

WR prospects in my database that have taken more than 70% of their snaps on one side of the field in their #ReceptionPerception sample pic.twitter.com/tJgtasJ5xx

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) March 13, 2017

It’s a small sample, to be sure, but some of these highly regarded prospects that struggled to assimilate to the game at the pro level didn’t diversify their alignment much in college. Another strong positive in Gallup’s favor is his ability to line up all over the formation.

He doesn’t have many holes in his game. In a draft class with plenty of big wideouts, Gallup doesn’t stand out in that area. His route tree is somewhat limited at this point – although he’s improved this season – and he’s also not a consistently physical blocker. Other than that, he’s been truly impressive.

Production

Statistics from Sports Reference.

Gallup’s overall season statistics look terrific for two years in a row. While his touchdown numbers and yards per reception numbers are down, his receptions and total yards are up. He’s proven to win downfield and as a possession receiver, and can play bigger than his size in the red zone.

One area of concern is his streakiness. In 2016, Gallup finished the season with at least one touchdown in eight straight contests, capping off his season with a couple of three-TD games. This season, he’s disappeared for multiple games. He’s essentially alternated huge games with unspectacular performances. Part of this is the lack of consistent targets he sees, but a player of his caliber should be peppered no matter what the circumstances are. Ultimately, it’s a minor cause for concern, but he’s proven he can be a big producer when given the opportunity.

Summary

Gallup is finally being recognized as one of the best receivers in the country. Just this week, he was named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, annually given to the best collegiate wideout in the country.

Gallup is currently projected as a third round NFL draft pick by NFL Draft Scout. I think that’s a fair projection for him at this point, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see him rise a bit after the combine. Assuming he’s selected at some point on day two of the NFL draft, I would feel comfortable slotting him towards the back end of the second round of rookie drafts. For me, he’s a part of a very large tier that follows the consensus top options of Saquon Barkley and Derrius Guice, and he’s talented enough to be a big riser depending on landing spot.

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