Rookie Cowboys Lineman Will Need Time

When the Dallas Cowboys drafted offensive lineman Cooper Beebe over four months ago, many envisioned the 23-year-old as a starter out of the gate.

Rookie Cowboys Lineman Will Need Time

But with the regular season less than four weeks away, Beebe will likely begin his NFL career as a reservist player — if Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has anything to say about it.

Right now, incumbent center Brock Hoffman lives ahead of Beebe on the depth chart, and that may remain as-is after Prescott’s emphatic endorsement last weekend. “Brock does it his own way, and he does it the right way. So that’s all that really matters and he’s a guy, the love for the game, the passion, it jumps out when the moment he starts the huddle,” Prescott told reporters about his center.

Those comments don’t sound like applicable to a man on the cusp of losing his job to a rookie like Beebe.

“That’s contagious, people feel that, and then whether it’s a run, the pass, he’s a guy that got your back and I know he’s got my back and the other 10 guys and whoever else steps on the field with him,” Prescott continued. “I’ll go to war with him any day, anywhere, anyhow.”

Of course, Hoffman wasn’t a sure-fire starter in 2023 or anything of the sort. But he still found a way to win Prescott heart after just two starts and a total of 221 offensive snaps. For his troubles, Hoffman fired up a 53.7 Pro Football Focus grade, which wouldn’t otherwise inspire much hope out of Prescott’s resounding endorsement.

Why are the Cowboys in this situation, formulating a starting plan at the center position? Simple. Long-time starter Tyler Biadasz, who played 61 games in Dallas, bolted in free agency for the rival Washington Commanders on a three-year, $10 million deal this offseason. Biadasz will continue holding down the fort in the middle of the offensive line, but in 2024, he’ll do so in Washington.

Biadasz was a Pro Bowl-caliber talent, earning the nod from voters in 2022. So, when Cowboys fans looked around the team’s landscape after free agency and heading into the draft, finding a replacement — someone like Beebe — made all the sense in the world. And then the draft arrived, and the Cowboys used Round 3 to unearth Beebe, who played guard at Kansas State.

Right after the draft, Beebe told reporters about his imminent switch from guard to center. “It’s definitely something we’ve talked about. I’m kind of going in with the mentality that I’m going to do whatever the team needs me to do to win, and if that involves center, that’s going to be something that I’m going to do for the team,” Beebe declared. “Whatever they need me to do, I’m going to do.”

Fast-forward to August, and unless the Cowboys 53-man roster swerves later this month, Beebe will begin his career as a backup center, not a guard. Dallas has the guard spots all sewed up, with Tyler Smith on the left side and Zack Martin at right guard.

Too, the Cowboys coaching staff could totally ignore Prescott and roll with Beebe anyway, though that feels a bit unlikely, at least to start the 2024 campaign.

Dallas’ offensive line ranked eighth leaguewide last year, according to PFF.

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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His NFL obsession dates back to 1989. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. Most of his work can be found at DraftHuddle.com and VikingsTerritory.com.

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.