Cowboys’ receiving corps, led by Cole Beasley, coming together

Cole Beasley probably couldn’t be any more ready for the regular season to begin, at least physically.

Beasley and the Dallas Cowboys’ other veteran receivers have taken all the necessary repetitions this August, whether it was during practice in Oxnard, Calif., or in one of the first three preseason games.

Most of them aren’t likely to play much (if at all) in the preseason finale Thursday night in Houston.

For Beasley, getting some preseason action was an important step, if only mentally, as the real games draw closer. He caught three passes for 31 yards on Sunday, his first and probably only preseason action before the opener Sept. 9 against Carolina.

“It felt good to get back in there and feel the speed of the game and get a few passes,” Beasley said about his connections with backup quarterback Cooper Rush. “Just for me mentally. Maybe some guys think they can go out there in the first game and have it, but I like to at least get a little feel, at least for the mental aspect, knowing I’ve played a little bit before getting to the real thing. It just helps me mentally to prepare.”

He’s not worried about whether he had enough preseason reps with Dak Prescott, which was none. They shared plenty of reps, however, during practice.

“I don’t think there is ever enough work but I think we’ve had a lot of reps together,” he said. “We’ve had enough to play well. I’ll continue to work with him until there’s perfection and I don’t think that’s ever achieved. At least, we’re not anything close, but we’ll keep grinding all season. There’s always room for improvement.”

Tuesday’s practice was a good day for Dallas’ receiving corps, Beasley said. For the first time all training camp, the expected group of receivers has worked together as a unit the last week.

“Today was a great step forward. Guys had juice and everybody was making plays and it was coming from a lot of different places,” said Beasley, who is in his seventh season out of SMU (and before that Little Elm High School). “Any time you have that it’s going to be tough to guard.There are lot of guys who are hungry. Whether they’re coming from different places, or first-year players, or had a down year, whatever, I feel like everybody in there has something to prove.”

This story was originally published August 28, 2018 at 3:48 PM.