Offensive line development is not something Texas has been able to hang its hat on over the past decade. Since offensive tackle Tony Hills was selected in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2008 NFL draft, Connor Williams is the only other Longhorn offensive lineman to be taken.
The three-year streak will come to an end in late April with Samuel Cosmi being viewed as one of the top tackle prospects in the draft. He has been projected anywhere from late first round to a Day Two pick in recent NFL mock drafts. In PFF’s latest mock draft, he slides into the first round as the No. 32 overall pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Super Bowl champions will be looking to repeat and the best way to do so is by protecting their soon-to-be 44-year-old quarterback Tom Brady. According to OverTheCap, five offensive linemen who featured on the Buccaneers’ roster will be free agents.
Left tackle is under lock for years to come, with Tampa Bay drafting Tristian Wirfs in the 2020 NFL draft. Donovan Smith, who starts at right tackle, only has one more year on his contract. Taking Cosmi and having him be a rotational piece during 2021 before sliding into the starting right tackle spot in 2022 could help him develop even more.
Here is what PFF said about Cosmi getting selected by Tampa Bay.
While Donovan Smith did turn in the highest single-season PFF grade of his career in 2020 (72.8), he could be a cap casualty considering that Tampa will likely get aggressive with re-signing Lavonte David, Chris Godwin and/or Shaq Barrett this offseason. Releasing Smith would save the Bucs more than $14M in cap space. But even if Smith is retained for the final year of his contract, the Bucs will likely lose a lot of their depth along the offensive line to free agency (Joel Haeg, AQ Shipley, Josh Wells) and would be smart to continue to invest in the position.
One of the better athletes at his position, the 6-foot-7, 309-pound Cosmi has earned 82.0-plus PFF pass-blocking grades in all three of his years at Texas. He also earned a 90.5 PFF grade in 2020.
With the offensive weapons the Tampa Bay offense possesses (Chris Godwin’s free agency pending), making sure the offensive line depth is shored up is how they will make another run at a Super Bowl.
Cosmi as a late first-round pick who will sit behind a starter for a year would be a great way for the Buccaneers to capitalize on his talents and potential.