By Jon Machota , Staff Writer Contact Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
Last year at this time, the Cowboys didn't have very good wide receiver depth. They made valuable additions last September by signing Vince Mayle before Week 1 and trading for Brice Butler after Dez Bryant was injured in the season opener.
Now, they have what Derek Dooley calls "probably the deepest" group "top-to-bottom" since he became wide receivers coach in 2013.
Cole Beasley agrees.
"We've had some good groups," Beasley said, "but this one has been a really good one, just as far as obviously talent, but guys knowing what to do and really studying and taking it upon themselves to learn everything."
The rest of the receiving corps consists of Terrance Williams, Lucky Whitehead, Devin Street, Rodney Smith, Chris Brown, Andy Jones and Ed Eagan. The Cowboys will likely keep five of the 11 when the roster is trimmed to 53. Bryant, Williams, Beasley, Butler and Whitehead are the front-runners.
If all five are able to stay healthy, the group could benefit as a whole from each player's skill set.
"We all do something different," Beasley said. "T-Dub's game is different from what I do, and Dez's is different from what me and T-Dub do. Dez can do things I can't do, and I can do things that Dez can't do, so I feel like we work together very well. We got different guys that do different things and it opens up a lot."
Beasley is coming of a career year. He set personal bests in receptions (52), receiving yards (536) and touchdowns (5) in 2015.
The 27-year-old recently said he followed that up with the best offseason of his four-year career.
"I think this is the best offseason I've had just as far as preparing myself for the season," Beasley said. "That just came with growth and taking care of my body, kind of developing more of a routine than I have in the past.
"Once you hit a certain age, you can't just get up and do it anymore. You got to find ways to recover. I learned that once I hit 26, it changed a little bit for me."
Several of the Cowboys wide receivers enjoy playing basketball in their free time. Word on the street is that Beasley, Bryant and Mayle are all pretty good.
How would Beasley rank them?
"Well, I'm No. 1. Off top, that's what I think," he said. "I haven't seen everybody play, though. I heard Vince Mayle can play too, so I can't really rank them all the way through. But just going off that, I'd say me, Vince and Dez are the top three. But I haven't even seen Vince play. Dez told me that he could ball, so I'll stick with his word."
Last year at this time, the Cowboys didn't have very good wide receiver depth. They made valuable additions last September by signing Vince Mayle before Week 1 and trading for Brice Butler after Dez Bryant was injured in the season opener.
Now, they have what Derek Dooley calls "probably the deepest" group "top-to-bottom" since he became wide receivers coach in 2013.
Cole Beasley agrees.
"We've had some good groups," Beasley said, "but this one has been a really good one, just as far as obviously talent, but guys knowing what to do and really studying and taking it upon themselves to learn everything."
The rest of the receiving corps consists of Terrance Williams, Lucky Whitehead, Devin Street, Rodney Smith, Chris Brown, Andy Jones and Ed Eagan. The Cowboys will likely keep five of the 11 when the roster is trimmed to 53. Bryant, Williams, Beasley, Butler and Whitehead are the front-runners.
If all five are able to stay healthy, the group could benefit as a whole from each player's skill set.
"We all do something different," Beasley said. "T-Dub's game is different from what I do, and Dez's is different from what me and T-Dub do. Dez can do things I can't do, and I can do things that Dez can't do, so I feel like we work together very well. We got different guys that do different things and it opens up a lot."
Beasley is coming of a career year. He set personal bests in receptions (52), receiving yards (536) and touchdowns (5) in 2015.
The 27-year-old recently said he followed that up with the best offseason of his four-year career.
"I think this is the best offseason I've had just as far as preparing myself for the season," Beasley said. "That just came with growth and taking care of my body, kind of developing more of a routine than I have in the past.
"Once you hit a certain age, you can't just get up and do it anymore. You got to find ways to recover. I learned that once I hit 26, it changed a little bit for me."
Several of the Cowboys wide receivers enjoy playing basketball in their free time. Word on the street is that Beasley, Bryant and Mayle are all pretty good.
How would Beasley rank them?
"Well, I'm No. 1. Off top, that's what I think," he said. "I haven't seen everybody play, though. I heard Vince Mayle can play too, so I can't really rank them all the way through. But just going off that, I'd say me, Vince and Dez are the top three. But I haven't even seen Vince play. Dez told me that he could ball, so I'll stick with his word."
