Gallimore “Physical & Impactful” in Breakout Game

If there are supposed to be silver linings that come out of a season with seven losses before the bye week, it’s that the Cowboys have an opportunity to give significant playing time to enticing young players.

On Sunday that playing time went to rookie defensive end Neville Gallimore, and if his performance was any indication then his future looks a lot brighter than the Cowboys’ present.

Dallas drafted Gallimore out of Oklahoma in the third round of the NFL Draft last April, and Gallimore told Dallas media that night that his “best football” was ahead of him. The Cowboys followed that draft up with the signing of veteran nose tackles Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe signaling a stance on Gallimore: They were excited about his potential but considered him a project.

McCoy and Poe are no longer on the roster and that project has been accelerated. His breakout start last Sunday came against the Pittsburgh Steelers and center Maurice Pouncey, arguably the best center in football. The rookie managed to make it look like an even matchup, at times getting the best of the Steelers’ offensive line.

“I thought he was extremely physical and impactful,” Mike McCarthy said of Gallimore on Monday. “I thought he did a lot of really nice things in Monday’s game.”