Dallas Cowboys: Cole Beasley is a Strength – With Weaknesses
By Reid Hanson
The Dallas Cowboys have a special weapon in slot receiver Cole Beasley. But since he isn’t without his weaknesses, it’s up to the Cowboys to use him correctly.
The Dallas Cowboys found a diamond in the rough when they signed undrafted free agent Cole Beasley four seasons ago. The 5’8” 180lb slot man from SMU has made a name for himself catching passes underneath and generally making a living by making something out of nothing.
The small and shifty Beasley presents a challenge to most pass defenses. Blessed with a knack for getting open, Beasley utilizes his size, and combined with excellent route running, finds a way break free from coverage. Whether it’s against zone or man defenses, Beasley knows where to go, when to get there, and how to shake a tail.
But it’s Beasley’s small stature, which also presents challenges for his quarterbacks. Cole Beasley provides a very small target to his quarterbacks.
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Last season may have been a career year for #11, but it was also an exercise in excessive misfires. Without Tony Romo slinging the ball, Dallas Cowboys backups struggled consistently hitting Beasley, leading to incomplete passes galore.
There aren’t many 5’8” 180lb football players in the NFL for a reason.
Dak Prescott doesn’t seem to have that problem. Dak has been extremely accurate with the ball and shares the same intuition and execution that Romo has when targeting Bease.
On Sunday, Cole Beasley was the Dallas Cowboys’ second leading receiver, catching 8 balls for 65 yards. But it’s the ball he didn’t catch that’s causing so much discussion. Running a deep drag route, Beasley had the opportunity to pull in a would-be (probably-be) touchdown. He didn’t and the Cowboys settled for a field goal instead.
"“I touched it; I got to catch it,” Beasley said. “If it touches my hands I’ve got to get it. That’s definitely one I’ll be thinking about and I’ll want back. Something I need to work on, I guess.”"
You see, the farther downfield Cole Beasley goes, the smaller the window he provides to his quarterback. DallasCowboys.com’s Brian Broadus has correctly pointed out on numerous occasions how ineffective Beasley is downfield.
That’s because he’s not just a small target in stature, but the catching window he provides is also small. The dropped pass on Sunday was slightly high. As we all know, pulling in a high pass while crossing the middle is dangerous business. Especially if you’re built like a middle school kid.
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He should have caught it but it really shouldn’t be surprising that he didn’t.
Thinking back to the definitive slot receiver of my day, the St. Louis Rams’ Az-Zahir Hakim, avoiding the big hit is nothing new for an undersized slot receiver. Wes Welker was perhaps an exception to the rule in gun-shy slot men. Often times, he stood in and took the hit when called upon.
While that nobility should certainly be praised by the fan faithful, it shouldn’t be emulated.
If you remember, Welker’s NFL career grinded to halt largely because of concussions. There are repercussions to fearlessness and while we want our players to be the toughest kids on the block, they need to be smart too.
Cole Beasley could have and should have caught that ball. We can’t argue that. But this is really something bigger than one play. It’s an indictment on how the Cowboys use him.
The Dallas Cowboys coaching staff is constantly experimenting and gambling with Beasley, despite limited success downfield. Perhaps if they just stuck to Beasley’s bread and butter, he’d trust situations like these a little more? If he knew they weren’t willing to gamble with his health so often, he’d be more willing to open up and make a routine catch across the middle.
Beasley needs to trust his QB not to expose him and the coaching staff not to put him in harm’s way. Right now it appears he trusts neither.
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There aren’t many 5’8” 180lb football players in the NFL for a reason. Cole Beasley needs to keep playing smart and while he should have caught that ball, the Dallas Cowboys need to do a better job at protecting their little Beasley.
Cole Beasley is a valuable weapon – the Cowboys just have to use him that way.