Randall Cobb vs. Cole Beasley: Did the Dallas Cowboys upgrade at receiver?
By Tyrone Starr
One week after losing receiver Cole Beasley in free agency, did the Dallas Cowboys actually upgrade the position at a lesser cost with Randall Cobb?
Last week, Dallas Cowboys fans had to say goodbye to a fan favorite. For the last seven years, Cole Beasley had been a fixture on the roster. Often under-utilized due to his place on the pecking order, Beasley nevertheless provided a much needed security to both Tony Romo and Dak Prescott.
When the Buffalo Bills came calling, however, the Cowboys simply could not match the price tag of $29M over four years with $14.4M guaranteed. With Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper all due for extensions and DeMarcus Lawrence still not signed long-term, Beasley was now a luxury and no longer a necessity.
Armed with Allen Hurns, forgotten rookie Cedric Wilson and newcomer Devin Smith, not to mention seven picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, adding a replacement for Beasley may not have even been necessary. Still, the Dallas Cowboys went out and signed former Packers receiver Randall Cobb to a one-year, $5M deal.
The question now becomes did the Dallas Cowboys upgrade their third receiver spot at a discounted rate? Well, for one, that $5M isn’t exactly $5M. Cobb’s base salary is $2M with a $2M signing bonus so only $2M is guaranteed. He carries a $4.56M cap hit wit the remaining $1M tied to his roster spot on the game day 46.
Based on that Cobb’s cap hit to the Cowboys this year is nearly $2M less than Beasley’s for the Bills. Chalk up a “W” for Dallas. Cobb also has better career numbers than Beasley, although there is a little bit of skewed perception here.
Cobb has 470 total receptions for 5,524 yards and 41 touchdowns. He has four seasons with 65+ receptions, three seasons with 800+ yards and three seasons with six or more touchdowns. Beasley has 319 total receptions for 3,271 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has just two seasons with 65+ receptions, one season with 800+ yards and at no time did ever eclipse six touchdowns in a season.
To be fair, Cobb also played in a more pass happy offense with a guy who just so happens to be considered one of the best quarterbacks in the game. That tends to help matters. Still, it’s hard not to argue Cobb has had the more prestigious career. Yet another win for the Boys.
The risk here really just centers on Cobb’s ability to stay healthy. This should be the biggest concern here, as this tends to be something Dallas covets in free agency.
Even though Randall Cobb has been in the league one year longer than Cole Beasley, he has only played in two more games. Twice Cobb has played in nine games or less in a season and only twice has been available for all sixteen.
Beasley, meanwhile, has played in every single game since 2014, minus the 2017 finale against Philadelphia, which was meaningless as the Dallas Cowboys were, eliminated from playoff contention the week prior. Will Cobb’s questionable availability be an issue for the Dallas Cowboys in 2019? Only time will tell.
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Thankfully, they do have a plethora of other options already in camp if things look dicey early. If Cobb is able to give Dallas say … thirteen games this year, it’s hard to see how he does not at least mimic a normal Beasley annual output. Because of that, I think you have to say that the Dallas Cowboys actually won in free agency this time.