There very few players around the NFL that can do what Cole Beasley does when he's on the field. It's no wonder that he is one of the fan favorites around Cowboys Nation. But, for some reason or another the Dallas Cowboys have failed to really get him involved in the passing game as much as they probably should.
There is no denying that Cole Beasley is a special talent. No, he's not the biggest or strongest wide receiver in the NFL, but he is one of the few who is virtually impossible to cover one-on-one by any defensive back. That is why I believe we need to see much more of Beasley and his signature hot sauce celebration.
I completely understand there are many mouths to feed on the Cowboys offense and everybody wants to be more involved, but Cole Beasley is really the only one I believe needs to see more targets in the passing game. I know some of you may disagree, but give me a chance to try to explain myself.
Cole Beasley = Security Blanket
You may or may not have heard of the term “security blanket”, but it basically refers to someone who is reliable play after play in the NFL. That's what Cole Beasley needs to become once again for Dak Prescott, like he was a season ago.
It's easy to forget that Beasley was the Dallas Cowboys leading wide receiver last season. He caught 75 passes for 833 yards and scored five touchdowns in 2016. Unfortunately, that success hasn't carried over into this season, but that has a lot to do with the fact he's not as involved in the offensive game plan as much this year for some reason.
Cole Beasley and Dak Prescott need to become best friends once again in the passing game, especially with Ezekiel Elliott not in the lineup. Prescott needs a reliable target to depend upon and with how quick and shifty Beasley is, he's the most logical choice since he is almost always open.
An Extension of the Running Game?
One of the many problems the Dallas Cowboys had against the Atlanta Falcons was that the offense was continuously in long down distant situations. This allowed the Falcons pass rush to pin their ears back and get after Dak Prescott. Without a reliable running game to depend on, the offense needed to turn to the passing game to create favorable down in distant situations.
Enter Cole Beasley.
The Dallas Cowboys offense absolutely has to find a better way to create favorable down the distance situations without Ezekiel Elliott. To me, this is where Cole Beasley needs to be utilize the most. He is at his best at the short to intermediate routes, which means he could be used as an extension of the running game.
The New England Patriots are the masters at using their WRs in this fashion. The Patriots don't really have a reliable running game, much like the Cowboys now, but they use their receivers to pick up the slack. Tom Brady gives his WRs a chance to pick up yards after the catch on the short/intermediate routes. That's something the Cowboys need to incorporate into their offense with Cole Beasley.
Until the Cowboys running game is reliable once again, they need to use Cole Beasley and possibly Ryan Switzer in the passing game to create better down and distant situations. This takes a lot of pressure off of Prescott and also builds his confidence at the same time. It also keeps the opposing defenses pass rush from being in attack mode all the time.
