Raiders Select Sam Cosmi From Texas
Sam Cosmi, the two-time All-Big 12 selection from Texas makes sense in the second round. He’s listed at six-foot-seven and weighs 309 pounds, so he has the frame and size needed at the position. His sheer size, compounded by his 33-inch arms, is even more impressive when you consider his speed. During his Pro Day, Cosmi posted 4.85 in his 40-yard dash. Cosmi possesses remarkable speed for his size and this will bode well for him moving forward. Kolton Miller holding down the left side with Cosmi on the right will be a nice offensive foundation.
As far as Pro Football Focus is concerned, Cosmi is one of the best offensive tackle prospects that’ll be available later this month. In fact, he had a noteworthy 90.8 overall grade in 2020. He posted a pass-blocking grade of 90.7 and 86.4 for his run-blocking abilities. He’s very young so it will be relatively easy to pack on another 15 to 20 pounds of muscle in the NFL. This is especially true when you consider he’ll be under good tutelage with Cable running the Raiders’ offensive line.
While Derek Carr needs to be get kept upright, the running game needs to also dominate in 2021. Cosmi showed at Texas he’ll be an asset in helping to establish the run, he often demolished defenders helping to clear running lanes. One example of many is against Baylor, you can see ’52’ dominate the line of scrimmage as he obliterates defenders. The fact that Comsi could be available in the second will translate into an absolute steal for the Raiders.
[tps_title]Up Next: Liam Eichenberg, Notre Dame[/tps_title]
This is a historically deep year for tackles, and quality starting tackles are likely to be available as late as the third round. The front office should look closely at the various candidates and decide where they should be drafting the tackle. The second probably makes sense, as the Raiders have to have a starting tackle in this draft, and if they waited until the third an early run on tackles could be disastrous. I disagree about the soundness of the interior of the line. The coaching staff seems to believe in James, and he does have an experienced backup, but Good is a career backup and Incognito is ancient by NFL standards, and coming off a major injury. So drafting a guard by the end of 3 seems pretty likely.