{"id":2428,"date":"2016-09-24T00:46:10","date_gmt":"2016-09-24T04:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=2428"},"modified":"2016-09-24T00:46:10","modified_gmt":"2016-09-24T04:46:10","slug":"cole-beasley-is-a-slot-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/09\/24\/cole-beasley-is-a-slot-superstar\/","title":{"rendered":"Cole Beasley is a Slot Superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

In case you’ve missed it, Cole Beasley<\/a><\/strong> is a slot superstar. In an off season filled with narratives such as Ezekiel Elliott<\/a><\/strong> breaking the rookie rushing record<\/a>,\u00a0Tony Romo<\/a>‘s<\/strong> health, and Dak\u00a0Prescott’s<\/strong> rise to stardom, it’s Beasley that is one of the most interesting story lines. Only 27 years old and on pace for a hundred catch season, Beasley is in the prime of his career and it’s showing. His exceptional ability to use his quickness on option routes<\/a> creates an unstoppable dynamic\u00a0on third downs.<\/p>\n

Cole Beasley<\/a> is a Slot Superstar<\/h2>\n

Beasley’s emergence should be enthralling to Cowboys fan’s everywhere for a few reasons. The first being that he’s one of the biggest mismatches in the NFL. The league has moved to trying to emulate the bigger corners Seattle<\/strong> has had so much success with. This has significantly helped Beasley, even though he’s excelled versus almost all body types. His 5’8 174-pound frame makes him a tough matchup for any corner. It’s not just his size, but rather his explosiveness and footwork that give him an advantage.<\/p>\n

These are the same traits that have helped Julian Edelman<\/a><\/strong> emerge into a stalwart on New England’s offense. While Edelman is a bit more physically gifted and plays a different role, they profile similarly. New England<\/strong> will use multiple formations and line Edelman up everywhere both inside and out. Beasley really only operates out of the slot. However, that’s a direct result of the type of offense the Cowboys run.\u00a0Dallas prefers to stick to its base offense. What this means for Beasley is that he will almost always be matched up versus the opposing team’s third corner. He\u00a0will always have the benefit of playing against an inferior player making him an unstoppable force.<\/p>\n

First and Beasley<\/h3>\n

Beasley has been a first down machine. Teams often focus their coverages on shutting down Dez Bryant<\/a><\/strong> or Jason Witten<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Beasley has reaped the benefits of relaxed underneath looks or man coverage. Think you are going to cover him with a safety? Good luck.\u00a0There just aren’t a lot, or really any teams for that matter, that have three solid corners who can cover. This puts Beasley at an inherent advantage in almost every match-up he’s in.<\/p>\n

Make no bones about it, Beasley does benefit from this dynamic.\u00a0That shouldn’t take away from the fact that he thrives in his role, though. In the first two games of the season, Beasley has been targeted a robust 18 times. While he\u00a0did drop a touchdown pass against the Giants,<\/strong>\u00a0he\u00a0still leads the team in receiving.<\/p>\n

When left in single coverage, Beasley has become a one-man wrecking crew on third downs. He’s consistently getting open with ease and he’s flashed an elusive after the catch ability that makes him dangerous in the open field. The Cowboys offense has slowly shifted from “First and Witten” to “First and Beasley”. Witten can’t play forever so it’s encouraging to see someone\u00a0else showcase that ability.<\/p>\n

How About Them Cowboys?<\/h3>\n

The Cowboys have often maligned for some of their contract decisions, especially dating back to Brandon Carr<\/a>‘s<\/strong> five-years 50.1 million dollar contract. After a closer examination, though, the team has been improving in this area. The only misfire since then appears to be the Tyrone Crawford<\/a><\/strong> extension\u00a0and that was more for leadership reasons<\/a>. Jeremy Mincey<\/a><\/strong>, Justin Durant<\/a><\/strong>, Orlando Scandrick<\/a><\/strong>, Tyron Smith<\/a><\/strong>, and James Hanna<\/a><\/strong> stand out as some excellent contracts and extensions that the team has handed out.<\/p>\n

Lastly,\u00a0Cole Beasley may be the best value<\/em> of all them. He inked himself a four-year $13.6 million contracts with the Dallas Cowboys on March 3, 2015<\/a>. That’s an average of only 3.4 million a season. Chris Wesseling<\/strong> recently wrote about his top ten slot wide receivers<\/a> for nfl.com<\/strong> and in comparison, Beasley’s contract is unequivocally an exceptional value. Edelman’s\u00a0cap hit per year averages out to only 4.5 million, but the others on their second contracts don’t come close to the value, for the money, that Beasley provides.<\/p>\n

So not only is Beasley an exceptionally fun player to watch, but he’s providing excellent value to the team. This is exactly the type of situation every fan hopes for, the perfect mix of value and production. Cowboys fan everywhere should rejoice, the team got this one right. Go ahead, get your popcorn ready. Oh and don’t forget, when it’s third down; First and Beasley.<\/p>\n

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Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n