Texas Football: Samuel Cosmi can be a future All-Pro OT

The first day of the 2021 NFL Draft has arrived and the Texas football program looks to have multiple players taken off the board in the next 72 hours. One player that will be a highly sought-after prospect in the first two days of the draft is the former standout Texas redshirt junior 6-foot-7 and 305 pound offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi. A multi-year All-Big 12 selection and one of the most reliable and solid offensive linemen in recent program history, Cosmi deserves a solidified status as a first or second-round pick in this draft.

Cosmi likely could’ve wound up as a first or second-round pick in each of the last two draft classes. He’s got a decently high ceiling, but should also have a very high floor at the next level. The former Longhorns offensive line anchor and Freshman-All American is definitely the most highly touted at his position group in this draft class among Texas Exes.

Granted, with senior offensive guard/center Derek Kerstetter returning to the Forty Acres this year, Cosmi is about it from Texas in this draft class.

Former Texas football OT Samuel Cosmi a top option in this draft class

Cosmi is likely to fit solely as an offensive tackle at the next level. While he can move to either side of the line, his frame is definitely best suited at the tackle spot.  In fact, of the more than 2,500 snaps that Cosmi played for the Longhorns in the trenches, all came at one of the tackle positions, unless he was lined up as a larger blocking tight end (which happened around 20-25 times).

In the last three years as a key starter for the Longhorns, Cosmi proved how well-rounded his game was both in run and pass blocking. He graded out about just as high in each blocking category in his college career. But his best individual season in college came last year.

On nearly every snap he played in, Cosmi had the opportunity to allow pressure on senior star quarterback Sam Ehlinger. But he only allowed pressures on Ehlinger on just over 1.5 percent of his snaps.

Of roughly 45 pressures on Ehlinger that could be faulted to Cosmi, only six of them resulted in sacks. This was the best pressure and sack rate of any Texas offensive linemen last season and was one of the tops of any linemen in the Big 12.

Cosmi was also one of the most consistent and disciplined offensive linemen in the Big 12 over the course of the past three years. He was penalized just a dozen times in his college career, which is a number that some linemen get close to in one season.

Individual skills that Cosmi brings to the next level include good hands and fundamental footwork and a frame that makes him ready to compete right away in the NFL. Cosmi ran a decently fast 40-yard dash time for an offensive linemen at the NFL Draft Combine a couple of months back, at 4.87 seconds. And he put up 36 reps on the benchpress and had a 4.39-second shuttle time, which are both very solid.

The physical tools and proven experience for Cosmi are both there, making him one of the best offensive tackles in this draft class. He still has a high ceiling in the NFL, but should have one of the higher floors in this position group.

The first day of the 2021 NFL Draft is set to take place on the night of April 29, in Cleveland, OH. Cosmi is one of likely a duo of former Longhorns including linebacker Joseph Ossai that could be taken off the board in the first day of the 2021 draft.