Cole Beasley sees more freedom and opportunity in Buffalo than Dallas.
The Bills receiver told NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Friday that he’s been given more autonomy in his route running than during his seven years with the Dallas Cowboys.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Beasley said. “I wanted more opportunities. I wanted more options. I wanted more freedom in my routes. And (OC Brian) Daboll has done a great job of giving me those things and has created a lot of opportunity for me here. And it’s been a lot more fun playing out there with the guys.”
With that freedom comes more responsibility for the 30-year-old receiver who joined the Bills as a free agent this offseason.
Beasley, who missed offseason workouts with a core-muscle issue, said himself and quarterback Josh Allen are still building rapport. The veteran wideout said he’s working with the young signal-caller on body language, so the QB knows which way he’ll break on an option route.
“When you’re given the freedom that I am in this offense, you have to be very definitive in the way you run your routes and your breaks,” Beasley said. “I have some routes where I can go five different directions and make a decision at the top (of the route). I just can’t go one way and then make a decision late to go someplace else or it’s going to be an interception. So there is a lot of pressure on me for that, but that’s exactly how I wanted it and that’s why I came here.”
The chemistry between a QB and WR must be spot on for option-routes to work properly. With Beasley missing time this offseason to build that chemistry, training camp and preseason will be vital for Allen and what should be his safety valve this season.
As for coach Sean McDermott calling the Bills receiving corps “Smurfs” this week, Beasley laughed it off.
“That’s from Papa Smurf himself,” he said smirking. “We have no problem with it. There are no sensitive guys over here. We’re guys who can separate. We have a lot of pride in that, and there are different philosophies everywhere, but the way we run our offense is fine not being 6-4, 6-3.”
If Beasley is creating separation with his option routes like he did in Dallas, he doesn’t need to be 6-foot-4 to get open.