Dallas Cowboys: How Cole Beasley is the No. 1 receiver

The Dallas Cowboys have a number one receiver and his name is Cole Beasley. Allow me to explain…

Before the season began the debate raged as to whether the Dallas Cowboys had a No. 1 receiver on the roster or not. Gone was long-time top-dog, Dez Bryant, in came a collection of role players performing at various stages of their careers.

Cole Beasley, the 2016 leading receiver, dropped significantly in production last season. His 36 receptions and 314 yards where significantly less than his 75/833 totals the season before. Many suspected this decline signaled of things to come – making this season’s expected production a complete mystery.

Two games into the season, Cole Beasley has tallied nine receptions for 86 yards putting him on pace for 72 receptions and 688 yards. While that yardage total is clearly down from his career year total in 2016, 4.5 receptions per game puts him right on par.

Additionally, Cole has drawn penalties that don’t show up on the stat sheet but greatly contribute to the win column (we saw him draw a significant PI call just last week that resulted in the first down). So it appears there’s more than meets the eye when you’re assessing Cole’s production.

It’s important to point out as well, Cole is extremely efficient in his production this season as well. He’s making it all happen only playing a portion of Dallas’s offensive snaps (73 of a possible 117 possible snaps).

His catch rate is equally noteworthy…

Last season, Beasley caught 36 of his 63 targets good for a modest 57.14 catch rate (according to Next Gen Stats). That was a far cry from his 76.53 catch rate he achieved in his impressive 2016 season when he caught 75 of 98 targets. How’s he doing this season?

In this, admittedly young, 2018 season, Cole has successfully pulled in 9 balls on 11 targets giving him an 81.82 catch rate. That’s ninth in the NFL of those with over 10 targets. All of this without a consensus No. 1 WR next to him too, I might add.

This is the seond season in a row Cole has drawn the majority of the oppositions attention. Yet, this season he’s finding success. Perhaps that’s because he’s the real No. 1 receiver on this Dallas Cowboys’ committee?

Six of Beasley’s nine catches have been for first down making his plays relevant and extremely impactful. After all, what’s better, catching an eight yard pass on 3^rd-and-10 or catching a six yard pass on 3^rd-and-5? These are important considerations when evaluating quality.

At the end of the day, fans and media will argue forever whether or not the Dallas Cowboys even have a true No. 1. That’s probably because everyone has a different definition of that extremely vague title. But if you’re hammering out a pecking order you’d be hard-pressed to find a Dallas Cowboys pass-catcher more worthy of the No. 1 designation.

Cole Beasley is quietly bouncing back this season and establishing himself as the Dallas Cowboys No. 1 receiver. Let’s give the guy some credit. And a few more balls.

• Published on 09/21/2018 at 12:01 PM
• Last updated at 09/21/2018 at 11:45 AM