FRISCO, TEXAS — Eight Dallas Cowboys draft picks are at the very beginning of their NFL careers as they head to The Star this weekend to officially sign their rookie contracts and participate in rookie minicamp.
Coming in as a rookie brings a lot of excitement and high expectations. Especially with the Cowboys' current rookie class, immediate contributions from most of their draft picks will be needed.
in coach's corner, we reached out to the college position coach of each draftee to find out more about their development on and off the field in college, their fit in Dallas, how they matched up in college, and the potential they need to address. I did. Before you even touch an NFL field.
We'll start with Kansas State offensive lineman Cooper Beebe. We spoke to Kansas State offensive line coach Connor Riley about these topics regarding Cooper Beebe.
Q: Beebe has to make sure he earns his spot as a freshman whenever he arrives on campus, but what did he do early on to establish himself on the field?
A: That's pretty interesting about Cooper because he was originally hired as a defensive lineman. He signed a letter of intent as a defensive lineman. He was in his first year under coach Klieman at Kansas State. As we were evaluating the offensive line, we knew we needed to move forward and felt the quickest way for Cooper to get on the football field would be on the offensive line. It was on report day that he saw his number 50. Perhaps he was expecting something from his 90s. Then he texted me asking if he wanted to come see me and I told him I was going to start him as an offensive lineman. Looking at his redshirt appearance in 2019, he wasn't a dropout on the service team or the scout team, he was actually a member of the travel team. What you could see right away was his physicality and ability and how mature he was. In 2019, he still needed some developing areas, but he was able to figure out our attack quickly and was physically strong at a young age, which allowed him to join that traveling squad.
Q: Do you think his transition to the offensive line was always a natural?
A: Yes, it became very natural for him. That was followed by a perhaps unfair assessment of his situation during his first start in 2020. With everything that was going on, the hiatus, not going through spring ball, contract chasing, etc…you'll see his first start against Arkansas State and he thought it was one of his worst performances. I immediately admitted that I was one. Right after that, we went on the road and played a top-five team from the University of Oklahoma that had NFL potential all over the field defensively. His growth and mentality in just one week was what he left on film. He wasn't there in the first game. Whatever the circumstances, it was very difficult, but I knew in that moment that this kid wasn't just going to be a good player, he was going to be a really good player. As that season progressed into his sophomore season in 2021, we knew he was going to be a special player.
Q: So it was in 2021 that you guys realized you had something pretty cool on your hands?
A: I don't think it took until the end of 2021 to realize how good of a player he is. One thing to understand is that due to the challenges of 2020, Kansas State's roster had to be shuffled around before the transfer portal, so for the first few years Kansas State had two It means you're looking at players playing in different positions. one week. He plays right guard, right tackle. And we had a lot of players coming down with COVID late, so I would say, “Cooper, you need to start at left tackle,'' and he would say, “Absolutely.'' You can see his versatility, and he wasn't a starter at left guard until 2022.
Q: What do you think his intellectual make-up is, keeping in mind that he will likely challenge for the center job once he arrives in Dallas? Have you ever practiced at the center?
A: Yes, he played a few practices at center. I knew that getting reps at that position, the only position where he didn't have game reps, would increase his value at the next level. Unfortunately, at this time a year ago, one of our starters was injured, and due to his versatility, [Beebe] I had to go in and make the right tackle. He played center in practice and also played in individual drills, in the pod, and on the half line. That doesn't mean it's completely irrelevant to him. As it has been well documented, he has not been in charge of the match. But as I've told a lot of people, based on his mental makeup, that's what allowed him to play so early and play in so many different positions. – He understood conceptually what we were doing offensively. Our center was a phenomenal player, but if we had any questions about communication regarding our points or identity, we would get affirmation and direction from Cooper Beebe, even if it wasn't his primary responsibility. You can see that they are looking to the left. There's no worry, cerebrally, about him adapting to a particular posture. I know he'll be able to handle it because he prepares like a pro and has the ability to see things before they happen from a defensive structure. His whole approach to the game is phenomenal. Will there be any adjustment since the 340 pound nose is 3 inches from his face? Yeah, that's where he's going to have to make some adjustments. I have the utmost confidence that he will adapt and grow into the position.
Q: Where do you think he improved the most last year? Compare the end of last year to the end of last year.
A: Some of his physicality on the perimeter block has improved a lot. If you look at his pass protection, what we've changed from a technical standpoint in pass protection, you can see him against a guy that was a pretty high pick in the draft, but he Not only did he hold his own, but he was also very stable in many of those respects. I really think his perimeter blocking and playing in space improved a lot last year and it showed on film.
Q: What do you think he probably still needs to work on before making the jump to NF? And I'd like to keep in mind that he might need to move to center.
A: Obviously, moving to center means he has to continue taking snaps. I know he has been preparing for that. He has been working hard leading up to the draft. Based on his conversations with the coaching staff, he knows this go-around is more realistic. The biggest thing he'll need to continue to work on is that component. He would be the first to admit that there are some technical aspects to his base and pass pro that he needs to continue to improve on. Those are things that he will definitely, absolutely continue to thrive and grow into. That's what's exciting about it. Because you can't pinpoint just one thing, but just keep explaining every part of his work in detail.
