Texas Football: Samuel Cosmi a great find for Washington Football Team

One of the more highly anticipated former Texas football players to get taken off of the board in the 2021 NFL Draft was the ex-redshirt junior and standout 6-foot-7 and 305 pound offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi. It did feel like, heading into day one of the draft festivities, that Cosmi could end the drought of first-round picks for Texas.

The last time that a Texas Ex was picked in the first round of the NFL Draft was way back in 2015 when the New England Patriots snagged defensive tackle Malcom Brown 32nd overall.

Since then, day two picks are the highest that former Longhorns were selected in the draft. And that trend continued heading into the weekend in the 2021 draft class. This two-time All-Big 12 selection and 2020 Second-Team All-American Cosmi was one of the better offensive tackles available in this draft class.

Cosmi was a staple that the Texas offensive line could not do without over the course of the last three seasons. He was definitely their most consistent and reliable offensive linemen. Even more so than former Texas offensive linemen Derek Kerstetter, Connor Williams, and Zach Shackelford, Cosmi was a key piece unlike any other in recent memory for this program.

Senior star quarterback Sam Ehlinger got extra time in the pocket, and the ground game got an increasingly bigger push in the last two years, thanks to the presence of Cosmi. He is a very good pass blocker that had a pressure rate allowed around 1 percent last season. And he was one of the highest-graded run blockers in the Big 12 in each of the last two years.

Washington Football Team gets former Texas football OT Samuel Cosmi

It took until the 51st pick in the second round of the 2021 draft for Washington Football Team out of the NFC East to snag Cosmi this year. He was the first Texas Ex taken off of the draft board this year, ahead of the likes of linebacker/edge rusher Joseph Ossai, junior safety Caden Sterns, etc.

Washington Football Team needed to upgrade along the offensive line, specifically at the tackle position. And that’s exactly what they’ll get by picking truly solidified offensive tackle in Cosmi. He rarely allowed sacks and opposing linemen and linebackers to blow up plays in the backfield.

Technique against better defensive linemen is the common knock on Cosmi. But given his development in the fundamentals over the course of the past three years, it makes sense that the Washington Football Team could turn their part of his game around in due time.

Cosmi can come in with Washington and make an impact right away. Morgan Moses and Geron Christian Sr. are the current two projected starters at the tackle positions for Washington. But those are two linemen that Cosmi could compete with immediately for reps during his rookie campaign.

Day two of the 2021 NFL Draft is commencing on the night of April 30. Rounds two and three will take place on the final day of the month of April. And then the weekend festivities of the draft will round out on day three on May 1.