Cooper Beebe scouting report: Exploring the Kansas State interior offensive lineman's strengths and weaknesses

A three-star recruit in 2019, Cooper Bebe saw action in two games as a freshman but ended up redshirting. The following season he started eight of nine games at right tackle and once at left guard. Then in 2021, he was a first-team All-Big 12 selection, starting 13 contests at left tackle.

After moving one spot inside the following year, he made second and then first-team respectively – along with All-American accolades in the latter, starting all 27 games he was available for and helping K-State win 19 of those, including their first unshared Big 12 championship since 2003.

Cooper Beebe scouting report

Run-blocking:

• Built like a cinder block and makes it a priority to make defenders want to give up
• Features those massive tree trunks and plays with tremendous leg drive – give him a running start on like a zero-tech and he’ll blow those guys off their spot significantly
• Along with gaining great positioning with that initial step, Beebe has those wrenches for hands to torque bodies and dig them out of running lanes, particularly pinning 3-/5-techniques inside on perimeter-oriented plays
• Playing out at tackle, that front-side B-gap consistently was open for the back to hit at full speed inside of Beebe on inside zone
• Does a nice job of cutting off the angle of the linebacker coming off combos on wide zone, through passing off the down-linemen to his fellow blocker having gained a good position
• Has some real force in those hands, where even if just gets a piece of defenders from the side, he can push them off track and create a cutback
• Explodes upwards through targets on the second level and routinely levels those guys
• Iowa State had a lot of guys I liked in 2021 - Mike Rose, Will McDonald, Eyioma Uwazurike - and this guy pushed them all around like little kids

Pass-protection:

• For his large build, Beebe is quick into his pass-sets and regularly establishes first meaningful contact on defenders in the gap he slides towards
• On big-on-big assignments, he operates from a wide base and is very patient with reading the man across from him
• His strong grip shows up with the way he can control reps and take away any escape angles for his guys he’s trapped
• When rushers want to aggressively get up the B-gap, he uses his forceful hands to ride them past the quarterback regularly
• Features the sturdy lower half and crafty body control to find anchor points vs. bull-rush attempts and maintain a firm interior pocket
• Consistently is looking to re-gain good posture with tight hands and a flat back as he gets deeper into pass-pro reps
• Has seen a wide variety of pressure looks and understands what’s the appropriate urgency to pick up his ultimate assignment, not lunging for second-level blitzers because he trusts himself to guide them off track even if they do get to one shoulder
• Over the last three seasons, Beebe earned PFF pass-blocking grades of 85+ in each of them, surrendering just two sacks (both in 2023) and 26 other pressures across 1259 pass-blocking snaps since 2021

Weaknesses:

• Beebe's powerful legs are a huge plus in the run game, but he's not the lightest on his feet and can have issues latching and steering slanting D-linemen effectively
• That combined with being 6'3" and having fairly short arms (31.5 inches) made him a logical mover to the inside for K-State already and it’ll lead to issues against NFL length
• Lacks the short-area agility and looseness in the hips to be a great fit in an outside zone-heavy rushing approach, where he’s asked to execute scoops and reach-blocks
• Much better on movement blocks in the tackle box (kick-outs, skip pulls, traps) than if you ask him to pull out to the corner
• You don't see him keep his pads vertical against rushers who shoot up the B-gap, but rather he’s content with flipping and riding them the further way, which pros who can threaten that way will expose more regularly with inside counters

Cooper Beebe has been one of my favorite offensive linemen to watch for the last three years now. He was an all-conference performer at left tackle and then became even better when he moved one spot over, where his lack of length and the fact he isn’t the most light-footed guy understandably were largely negated.

He’ll still be out-reached by NFL defensive linemen, forcing him to improve his ability to be the one countering their hands. While many of the Shanahan disciples are veering away from running wide zone extensively, he’s not going to be a plus when asked to do it. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a road-guarding guard who can immediately boost your rushing attack, this is your man.

Grade: Top 50