Primarily a slot receiver in his two years with the Cowboys, Cole Beasley will likely see an expanded role in the Dallas passing attack in 2014, receivers coach Derek Dooley said this week.
“We’re moving him around a little bit. He’s going to have to play some outside,” Dooley said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But he’s really expanded his route inventory, so because of that, he’s going to be a much better player than he was last year. And he was really valuable to us last year.”
Indeed. While working mostly out of the slot in 2013, Beasley finished with 39 catches for 368 yards and two touchdowns, and displayed a knack for making third down grabs to keep drives alive. The ability to move to the outside on occasion, Dooley believes, will only make Beasley more dangerous for opposing defenses.
“Especially on third down, he was really effective,” Dooley said. “The teams that just played him with one guy really struggled to win. So they had to, later in the season, be aware of where No. 11 was. Two things come from that: it opens up the other players to make plays. The second thing is, now Cole has to continue to build his route inventory to get a little more downfield. Cole’s had eight great practices or so, and he’s just building on what he did for us last year.”
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