Former coach of Cowboys' draft pick Cooper Beebe explains why seemingly daunting task isn't so

By picking Cooper Beebe in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys hope to have found the center that will replace Tyler Biadasz after he left in free agency to play for the Washington Commanders.

However, there's one significant problem.

In his four years as a starter at Kansas State, Beebe has never taken a single snap at center. He's played tackle and guard and even practiced snaps in practice and in preparation for the draft but has never actually done it in gameday.

The question the Cowboys are facing right now is how much does it matter? After all, he was a dominant interior lineman in college that set the tone with his nasty style of play when run blocking, consistently burying second-level defenders and generating movement thanks to his power and strength. In pass pro, his technique is sound and has held his own against NFL-caliber talent. 

A big reason to believe Beebe will have a smooth transition to center has nothing to do with the physical aspect of hit, however, as you need to have high football IQ to man an offensive line.

"He has not taken game reps, as that's well-documented," Kansas State OL coach Conor Riley told Nick Harris from DallasCowboys.com. "However, as I've told numerous people, based on his mental makeup – which is the thing that allowed him to play so early, allowed him to play so many different positions – he understood conceptually what we were doing offensively."

Although he wasn't snapping the football, Beebe was the de-facto center at times when there were doubts across the offensive line, even though that's usually the role of the center.

"Our centers have been phenomenal players, but if there were any questions on communication on our points or our identifications, you can see them looking to the left to get affirmation and direction from Cooper Beebe, even though that wasn't his primary responsibility," Riley added. 

So while the physical aspect of the job might be less natural to him than playing a position he's more familiar with like guard, fans shouldn't be concerned about his abilities to lead the unit and declare protections, etc., which is great news for a Cowboys line that could be fielding two rookies in 2024.

"There is no concern from a cerebral point of him adjusting to that particular position," Riley said. "I know he's going to be able to handle it because he prepares like a professional and he has the ability to see things before they happen from a defensive structure. His entire approach to the game is phenomenal."