Losing Cole Beasley is a bad hit for the Dallas Cowboys

Cole Beasley has verbally agreed to a deal with the Buffalo Bills. While his pockets just got bigger, the Dallas Cowboys offense just became weaker.

Former Dallas Cowboys‘ wide receiver, Cole Beasley, has agreed to a four-year, $29 million deal with the Buffalo Bills. Losing an aging receiver that has never even surpassed 1,000 yards in a season may not sound like it will impact the offense. However, life without Beasley will not be so easy.

It is true that Beasley never became an elite player if you were just to look at box score stats. But he helped quarterback Dak Prescott dramatically. Without Beasley, the Prescott era may never have come.

In 2016, Beasley caught 79 of 97 targets for 878 yards and five touchdowns. On nearly every third down, Beasley was Prescott’s main read. Obviously, the 5’8″ receiver never became a threat down the middle of the field, but he was a weapon in the first twenty yards downfield.

According to Pro Football Focus, in 2018 Prescott averaged a passer rating of 110.67 when targeting Beasley 0-20 yards downfield. In the NFL, that area is where most passes go. Even with the Kansas City Chiefs’ high powered offense, most passes are not deep downfield but intermediate and shallow passes.

Beasley did an exceptional job for Prescott and the Cowboys offense. Since 2015, Beasley has been one of the best receivers for Dallas. According to @CowboysStats, Beasley led the team in expected points added.

This level of production cannot be easily replaced. Beasley is nearly unstoppable in one on one situations, has sure hands, and can make yards after the catch.

Beasley will never be a traditional number one receiver, but as a solid number two or three, any team would be happy to have him. According to Jane Slater with the NFL Network, the Cowboys never really pursued the slot receiver in free agency.

This is a huge mistake by Dallas. The Cowboys should have been willing to offer $25 million over three years, but the true crime came in 2018. Dallas never developed a gameplan that targeted Beasley on a consistent basis.

Week to week Beasley’s targets fluctuated. The game tape shows that it was not due to him being covered well by defensive backs. In fact, he got open quite often, but the offenses scheme did not prioritize Beasley in Prescott’s reads.

Beasley understands that he has a skill set that was not being fully utilized in Dallas. He is about to turn 30-years old in April, and time is ticking. Going to the Bills might have been the right choice for Beasley as he will get more opportunities and money.

Dallas will have a lot of work to do to find a suitable replacement for Beasley. Do you think it was wise for the Cowboys to let Beasley walk? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!

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