Texas left tackle Samuel Cosmi is widely expected to become a first round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
If the expectations ring true, Cosmi would become the first Texas player to be selected in the first round since 2015. On top of that, he’d be the first offensive player taken off of the board in round one since quarterback Vince Young in 2006.
It appears the likely fit for Cosmi will be during the second half of round one. On this particular Mock Draft Monday, we took a look at the recent projections from Yahoo Sports and USA TODAY Sports Draft Wire.
Luke Easterling of the Draft Wire has the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting Cosmi with the No. 32 overall pick. Four other offensive lineman were taken off of the board before him.
Yahoo Sports expects Cosmi to be selected seven spots higher than Easterling’s projection. Cosmi lands with the Chicago Bears at No. 25 overall.
“GM Ryan Pace has drafted two offensive tackles in six years — sixth-rounder Tayo Fabuluje in 2015, his first draft, and seventh-rounder Arlington Hambright in April. Hambright remains on the roster but is a complete unknown. It would be smart to plan for an eventual replacement for Charles Leno at left tackle or Bobby Massie on the right side.
Cosmi played right tackle for the Longhorns in 2018, left tackle the past two seasons. He’s a fluid athlete (he grabbed a TD catch in 2019) with agile feet, nice length and projectable traits for the next level. Adding more sand in his pants could be in order, but Cosmi would be a nice fit for Matt Nagy’s offense.”
The 6-foot-7, 309-pound athlete has anchored Texas’ offensive line over the last few seasons. He helped quarterback Sam Ehlinger account for 4,326 yards of total offense in 2019 — the second most in school history.