NFL Draft Tackle Rankings: No. 5 – Samuel Cosmi, Texas
From one perspective, the Green Bay Packers are in good shape at offensive tackle. With All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari and right tackle Billy Turner, Green Bay has one of the better duos in the NFL. However, Bakhtiari is coming off a torn ACL and might not be ready for Week 1 and there is no depth whatsoever with Rick Wagner and Jared Veldheer pondering retirement while in free agency. Remember, last year’s No. 3 tackle, Wagner, played almost 60 percent of the offensive snaps, so there is a need.
Texas’ Samuel Cosmi is our No. 5-ranked offensive tackle.
Samuel Cosmi takes nothing for granted. His parents, who fled the Communist country of Romania when they were teenagers, wouldn’t let that happen.
“It takes true dedication to understand the importance of hard work,” Cosmi told The Draft Network. “My parents came to America with nothing but the shirts on their backs. When you find yourself in a new country with nothing to your name, all you can really count on is your work ethic. That’s something I learned from my parents. I saw how much they had to work and strive just to give us a better life. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for them. It speaks volumes of their dedication and hard work.
“That’s what I’ve taken from their story. Their drive for their kids to have a better life is the biggest life lesson I could have ever asked for.”
Cosmi’s path to the draft started in Humble, Texas, as a soccer player. Too aggressive for that sport, he persuaded his parents to let him play football. As he grew, he went from running back to fullback to defensive line to, finally, the offensive line.
“I’m always just looking at different things to make me better,” Cosmi told the Statesman. “I want to be the best. I don’t want to be a mediocre football player. I have a vision, and I want to be great.”
Cosmi is the total package of size, strength, intelligence and off-the-charts athleticism. His strength regimen includes flipping a 750-pound tire in his backyard.
“I’ve always had the mentality when it comes to someone across from me, you might be more talented or gifted or whatever, but I just go back to my fundamentals and technique; I just know I’m not going to be pushed around,” Cosmi told the Houston Chronicle. “I’m going to push other guys around. I don’t like being tossed around, so I’m not going to let that happen. He might get me one play, but the next five, six plays, it’s going to be a dogfight.”
He wound up starting the final 34 games of his career at Texas, at right tackle in 2018 and at left tackle in 2019 and 2020. During his final season, he earned some second-team All-American accolades in powering one of the best offenses in the nation and school history.
In 2019, he scored a touchdown on a trick play called “Moses.”
“Those O-linemen are like brothers, right?” offensive coordinator Tim Beck told The Athletic. “They all live together and they do everything together all the time, right? So one of them scores, it’s like they all score. They all take such incredible pride in that, and I think Sammy is really good because I think he realizes that, he appreciates that. It wasn’t him that scored. It was the O-line (that) scored. I think he’s really, pretty proud of that for his unit.”
Measureables: 6-foot-5 7/8, 314 pounds, 33-inch arms. 4.85 40, 4.39 shuttle, 36 bench-press reps. How good are those testing numbers? His RAS (Relative Athletic Score) of 9.99 (on a 0-to-10 scale) ranks second in the draft class behind only Northern Iowa's Spencer Brown. Since 1987, Brown ranks first, Cosmi second and Taylor Lewan third.
Stats and accolades: Cosmi was second-team all-Big 12 as a sophomore and a second-team All-American as a junior. According to Pro Football Focus, Cosmi allowed two sacks and eight total pressures out of 368 pass-protecting snaps. Sports Info Solutions charged him with two sacks and seven blown blocks (two runs, five passes). He was not flagged for holding after being nailed six times in 2019. Runs to his gap averaged 1.7 yards before contact.
NFL Draft Bible says: Over the last two seasons, Cosmi developed into one of the premier offensive linemen in college football. Body beautiful standing in at a hair over 6-foot-6 and 309 pounds, evaluators will be hard-pressed to find a more desirable frame in the class. With prototype length and athleticism, Cosmi has a big upside as a blind-side pass protector. His movement skills show up in the run game, where he is able to transition fluidly laterally and to the second level. Cosmi has put on a substantial amount of weight during his Longhorns career and the power behind his pads is still a work in progress. As he continues to develop physically, a clearer picture will be gained on just how dominant he can become.
About This Series
Packer Central is introducing you to the top prospects, both on and off the field, in this year’s NFL Draft. The series is starting with the top five at each position, then will add additional players as the draft approaches, with a focus on positions of need.
OT2: Northwestern Rashawn Slater
OT3: Virginia Tech's Christian Darrisaw
OT4: Oklahoma State's Teven Jenkins
OG4: Alabama's Alex Leatherwood
OC1: Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey
OC2: UW-Whitewater’s Quinn Meinerz
OC4: Alabama’s Landon Dickerson
OC5: Pittsburgh’s Jimmy Morrissey
WR4: Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman
RB3: North Carolina’s Javonte Williams
RB4: Memphis’ Kenneth Gainwell
RB5: North Carolina’s Michael Carter
QB1: Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence
QB2: Ohio State’s Justin Fields
