A year ago at this time, few Cowboys fans knew who Cole Beasley was. As the Dallas Cowboys’ rookie mini-camp rolled into OTAs (Organized Team Activities) and mini-camps and eventually the team’s official training camp, his story was told by writers and announcers, many of whom scoured rosters and press releases to identify the small but elusive slot receiver. Observers marveled at Beasley’s ability to run crisp routes and catch everything that was thrown within his reach, but most dismissed him as little more than an offseason novelty act.

After making the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent out of SMU, Cole Beasley played in 10 games as a rookie for the Dallas Cowboys in 2012 (photo by Dallas Cowboys PR).

Then Beasley did something few expected: he made the team.

Beasley was on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster at the end of training camp, and stayed throughout the season, playing in 10 games and catching 15 passes for 128 yards. A year later, Beasley said he finds himself with a year of experience, but almost the exact same emotions as he tries to increase his role on the team.

“It doesn’t feel that much different,” Beasley said. “I’ve still got to come in and compete. I didn’t play a lot last year, so I need to figure out a way to find a bigger role, to be on the field more. If I can get on the field more, more balls will come my way.”

Head coach Jason Garrett and quarterback Tony Romo both went out of their way to praise Beasley during his rookie season last year, and now new Dallas receivers coach Derek Dooley is joining in.

“It starts with the physical skills, and one of the reasons he’s here is that he has outstanding short-area quickness,” Dooley said. “He has great hands and runs great routes, and he’s a very smart, instinctive player.”

Beasley said he was sorry to see Jimmy Robinson, who coached the Dallas receivers, leave over the offseason, but said that Dooley (who coached receivers at SMU from 1997-99 under then-head coach Mike Cavan) is an able teacher who will help Beasley become a better player.

“(Robinson) is a good coach, and you never want to see someone get let go, but it’s a business,” Beasley said. “(Dooley) is a really good coach, too. He’s more detailed about things. He goes over every little thing. Coaches assume you know how to play the position, but (Dooley) is going to make sure you know the little details, because he explains everything so well.”

Teams constantly seek out receivers who are built more like the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Dez Bryant than like Beasley, who said he now carries “about 182 pounds on his almost-5-foor-8 frame. But Dooley is a coach who clearly has no objection to playing diminutive receivers.

“I had a guy with the Dolphins who’s about Cole’s size, and he did OK, right?,” Dooley said. “Wes Welker did really well for me, and he’s still doing really well. It’s easy to compare the two.”

At times, Beasley has shied away from the comparisons to Welker, the acknowledged standard for receivers who find themselves looking up at six-footers.

“I know Cole wants to be his own self,” Dooley said, “but he ought to be flattered to be compared to a player with Wes Welker’s skill set.”

Beasley said he and Dooley have talked about Welker, although not extensively.

“He has (brought up Welker) once,” Beasley said. “He told me to get film of him on my iPad, and I did that. I have watched a lot of him and studied him before, but now I’m watching more, because I’m now working with a coach who worked with Wes. He knows what works and what doesn’t work for a player like me.”

Beasley has been one of the stars of the Cowboys’ early offseason. It’s true that the players (per NFL rules) are not wearing pads and hitting, but there have been times during the team’s OTAs and mini-camps when veteran cornerbacks like Brandon Carr have struggled to stay with Beasley, while several undrafted rookies have been thoroughly embarrassed while trying to stay with him.

Nonetheless, the second-year receiver knows his spot on the roster is far from guaranteed. Economics alone dictate that veterans Bryant and Miles Austin are guaranteed to make the roster, and third-round draft pick Terrance Williams is close to being a lock, too. The Cowboys carried either five or six receivers on their active roster last season, and Beasley and Dooley both said they don’t know how many the team will carry in 2013. Regardless of how many make the team, there are others in the mix, including Dwayne Harris (a major contributor on special teams who is getting more useful in the offense), 2012 draft pick Danny Coale and a slew of rookies and free agents.

“I think they’ll carry five, maybe six (receivers),” Beasley said. “It’s not that different (than in 2012). I expect it will be like that every year, unless you’re a Pro Bowler or something. I know I could go out and play better, but if I’m not used, I could get cut.”

Beasley said he is using this offseason and summer to increase the number of roles he can fill for the Cowboys. Already a precise route runner with a knack for finding seams in the defense, Beasley is trying to increase his value as an outside receiver, as well.

“I’m just trying to improve,” he said. “I’m more comfortable inside, but I’m working to get better outside, too. I want to get off the press against bigger, stronger, long-armed guys. In the slot, you can take your time more, because the routes are usually shorter, but on the outside, you’ve got to be out of your break in less time out there to get separation.”

If Beasley continues to improve as he has, his chances of making the team outright are good. If someone else steps up with a strong training camp to make an already-crowded contest for the last receiver spot even more contested, he might have one exceedingly valuable ally on his side: Romo.

One of the more talked-about storylines of the offseason has been that after Romo signed his long-term extension with the team, owner Jerry Jones announced that his quarterback would have an increased role in putting together the game plan for each game. At his first meeting with the media after signing his new deal, Romo downplayed the notion that he will somehow be dictating to Garrett and Bill Callahan (who will call plays this season) how the offense should be run. Maybe his humility about the role was sincere, or maybe it was for the benefit of the media and fans. If Romo really does have a larger say in what the Dallas offense does in 2012, Beasley said that only can help his chances to make the team and perhaps enjoy the larger role in the offense that he wants.

“There is already a lot of stuff in there that Tony wants in the offense,” Beasley said. “So it’s not really that we’ll have a lot of new stuff, but how much of what we already have will get run. I think we’ll have more three-wide receiver sets, which is good — it’s pretty much adding more stuff I can do.”