Cole Beasley is a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills. He went to high school in Little Elm, TX (just 10 minutes away from Dallas Cowboys headquarters) where he played quarterback. He committed to SMU where he would change positions and learn to play wide receiver. He played sparingly his freshman and sophomore seasons, but he became a key contributor his junior year, racking up 87 receptions for 1,060 yards. His senior year, he was able to duplicate those numbers to further boost his college stats and finished with a 25.0% (73rd percentile) target share. He was not invited to the Combine but did participate in the SMU pro day where he ran a 4.54 (51st percentile) 40-yard dash and confirmed his hand size to be 8 7/8-inches.
Cole Beasley went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft and was picked up after the draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Cole Beasley had a very quiet rookie season, logging minimal snaps, but his play during his second season was much improved. He finished the year 2nd among all offensive players with a 72.2% catch rate. After his third season, the Cowboys resigned him to a new contract, and he would finish second on the team in receptions and led the team in touchdown receptions. His best year with Dallas was his fifth season where he would finish with 75 receptions, 833 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. In the offseason before the 2019 season, he would be signed by the Buffalo Bills, and he had his career best season with them in 2020, going off for 82 receptions for 967 yards, and four touchdowns, and even set a new career high in air yards (815). Outside of his 127.6 (83rd Percentile) burst score, he does not possess any outstanding metrics.
He has cobbled together a career by catching underneath passes and playing at his best when surrounded by outstanding talent that demand more coverage from the defense. For Example, he has only had a combined 24 deep ball targets over the past three seasons, even being associated with one of the league’s premier deep passers. It is likely that we have seen the absolute best from Beasley, but he can still contribute to a team’s offense as an ancillary weapon, not a primary target. Buffalo recently game him permission to seek a trade, and then cut him once they could not find him a home and signed fellow slot receivers Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder. Beasley's NFL future is up in the air.
