Cooper Beebe: Good, but not Great

I had high hopes heading into my five-game evaluation of Kansas State left guard Cooper Beebe because of how much he’s been built up in the media.

However, I walked away disappointed because I had that expectation. Beebe looked the part with his big wide stout and strong frame, but he didn’t excite me.

Beebe didn’t look dominant.

What he looked like was the perfect developmental guard.

That hasn’t stopped a lot of draft platforms from putting a big grade on Beebe. Pro Football Network, The Draft Network, Draftwire, 247Sports, CBS, Fox Sports, The Score, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, USA Today, and Pro Football Focus have all tagged him with a first-round grade.

I’m not seeing it.

Before the 2023 NFL Draft, I had a first-round grade on Florida’s O’Cyrus Torrence, who ended up going second-round to the Buffalo Bills (No. 59).

Beebe is no Torrence.

Pass blocking

There’s a lot to like about Beebe when he’s a bodyguard for his quarterback. He uses his gigantic and powerful frame very well to simply get in the way of pass rushers and he finishes the job with his naturally strong arms and hands. He’s got a decent anchor and it’s just plain next to impossible to go through him.

One of the things I like most about Beebe is he is a real competitor. It’s easy to see football is important to him on film.

Another trait I like about Beebe is he plays smart and seems to be a team player, often going out of his way to help a fellow blocker if he has nothing else to do.

The big concern with Beebe’s pass blocking is his very average lateral footspeed in his immediate gaps of responsibility. There were several reps when he got turned and ‘opened the gate’ in the pocket. This resulted in some pressure and at other times he was able to show off his high effort level to still get the job done and compensate.

Run blocking

Beebe is great as a positional blocker when he has leverage or when he’s in-line pulling. If he has it lined up, he will crush defenders. However, there were more times than I could count when he would make an initial block at the second level (where the linebackers line up pre-snap), but he would lose it and his guy would either end up in the pile or in on the stop.

Just like with pass blocking, Beebe gives it everything he has to give to create paths for running backs.

There’s no question Beebe is better (much more polished) in pass protection than run blocking.

The other concern is he’s inconsistent sustaining run blocks. Sometimes he does just enough and a good number of times it wasn’t enough.

While Beebe is “athletic,” he also has very real tightness in his movements.

#50 Cooper Beebe 6-foot-4, 335 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Fall 2023 Grade: Third-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 32.5% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of November 1, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: TCU (Big 12 CCG), Oklahoma, TCU (regular season), Texas, and Texas Tech (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2022 stats: Over the past two seasons, the junior’s 94.0 pass-blocking grade leads all offensive linemen in college football (pff.com)

Note: Has experience playing left tackle

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Versatile massive guard prospect with a heavy frame and gives a high effort level. Can slide to tackle in a pinch. Thick lower and upper body. In pass pro, active, battles, and does his best to keep his assignment off the quarterback. Alert. Handled “X” stunts. Best when he can wall off with a consistent wide base at the point of attack. Struggles sometimes walling off gaps and can give up some pressure despite a strong effort to recover. Heavy lateral feet. Uses his hands well. Best run positional run blocking with leverage. Scrappy. Decent pure running speed in space, but it’s hit-and-miss.

What to watch for during the 2023 season

1. Is he “opening the gate” in pass protection?

2. Ability to anchor when bull rushed?

3. Sustaining run blocks consistently?

4. Do his movements look tight?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.