Dallas Cowboys: Can Cole Beasley and Ryan Switzer co-exist?
By Tim Kohut
The Dallas Cowboys drafted slot receiver Ryan Switzer in the fourth round, and plan on having a big role for the diminutive receiver. However, it remains to be seen if he can co-exist with incumbent slot receiver Cole Beasley.
The Dallas Cowboys are going into this season loaded on the offensive side of the football, giving fans reason to be excited about year two of the Dak and Zeke era. They managed to retain all of their starting skill position players, in addition to a few new faces.
One of those new faces is Ryan Switzer, the 5’10” receiver out of North Carolina. Of all slot receivers in this past draft, Switzer was the most promising, coming off a college season where he caught 96 passes for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns. The Cowboys plan on giving Switzer a sizable role in the offense his rookie season, but the question is– can he and Cole Beasley co-exist?
Beasley was Dak’s favorite target last year, by far. He’s a crisp route runner, with great hands, and is a reliable bail out option for Prescott on third down. He’s perfectly suited for Dak’s strengths– short to medium, quick passes. Frankly, that skill-set is exactly what Switzer brings to the table, although Switzer does maintain a slight edge in stature (5’10” 180 to Beasley’s 5’8″ 174).
Both receivers are too small in stature to play outside, so they feasibly can only play one position– in the slot. Although it looks like Switzer could eventually usurp the role from Beasley, apparently the veteran slot-man is excited to have the rookie aboard.
"“I was actually excited, more for the slot position itself than our particular situation,” Beasley told The Dallas Morning News. “There’s been so many guys like me, guys like Wes Welker who never got drafted. They weren’t drafting short white guys. And part of my goal has been to push the position forward.”"
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Although Beasley seems to be embracing the role of mentor to Switzer, it’s still fair to wonder what the future holds for the former undrafted free agent. He’s still on a team-friendly contract, but the fact remains that he could conceivably be pushed out of a role if Switzer proves he can play at a high level from day one. Fortunately for the Cowboys, this is a good problem to have.