Cole Beasley’s departure makes Jason Witten even more important

With the departure of Cole Beasley to the Buffalo Bills, Jason Witten will be even more important for the Dallas Cowboys this upcoming season in many ways.

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley is headed to a different team for next season. In the later stages of his career, the 29-year old Beasley signed a four-year, $29 million deal with the Buffalo Bills. This will presumably be the last major contract of his career, and Dallas was simply not willing to offer him that kind of money.

Last season, the Cowboys were 10th in the NFL in third-down conversion at 41.4 percent and Beasley was key in having this much success. With his departure, Dallas will look to find other receivers for Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott to target on third down.

Prior to his retirement, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten was one of the best in the NFL in third-down situations. Not only will Witten be more important on third down this upcoming season, but important in short yardage situations in general.

Going forward, the Cowboys’ wide receiver corps including Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Allen Hurns is a group that will thrive in long-yardage plays when Prescott throws downfield. Witten will be heavily relied on running short routes and keeping defenses honest.

Last season, the Cowboys struggled at the tight end position, with their five young tight ends combining for 68 receptions resulting in 710 yards and four touchdowns. In Witten’s last season before retirement in 2017, he single-handedly produced 63 receptions for 560 yards and five touchdowns.

Beasley was also a great leader on the Dallas offense.  Beasley, at 29, was the oldest offensive starter on the Cowboys’ roster. Outside of offensive lineman Tyron Smith, Beasley was also the longest tenured starter on the roster and knew the offensive system extremely well. This was key for Dallas, as outside of Beasley, the Cowboys had a core of four brand new wide receivers who were learning a new system.

Witten is not a long-term fix for the Cowboys at tight end. But he can mentor the young tight ends on the roster, as well as any that are drafted in the upcoming draft. There is no better player than Witten, a future Hall of Famer, to mentor whoever may become the Cowboys long-term tight end.

Even if Jason Witten is unable to be as productive as he once was, his leadership, third-down reliability, and ability to keep defenses honest will prove to be extremely important in the upcoming season. Now that Cole Beasley will be playing in Buffalo, Witten will be asked to do even more of this, as those are the things Beasley was known for during his seven-year tenure in Dallas