USAT: Washington Wire audio clip

USAT: Washington Wire

Mar 26, 2022

The Washington Commanders selected offensive tackle Sam Cosmi in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft with the expectation he would start as a rookie. - Washington liked Cosmi so much it cut longtime starting right tackle one month after the NFL draft. Cosmi would battle veteran Cornelius Lucas for the right to start at offensive tackle. - After starting nine games as a rookie — Cosmi missed eight games due to injuries — bigger things are expected from the former Texas Longhorn in 2022. - Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report recently named one potential breakout player for all 32 NFL teams. Cosmi was his pick for Washington: - - The Washington Commanders right tackle looked incredibly comfortable in the run game from the get-go. Even in September, he had the third-highest run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. He moved defenders and created lanes. - The pass blocking was still a work in progress. He allowed four sacks on 474 snaps, per PFF. But the biggest issue was his health. Cosmi only played nine games because of ankle and hip injuries and a trip to the reserve/COVID-19 list. - The injuries would be a bigger concern if Cosmi had a long history of them at Texas. He started 34 games for the Longhorns and played in every contest for three seasons before opting out at the end of the 2020 campaign. - - Cosmi looked outstanding at times in 2021. After a rough start in training camp against Chase Young and Montez Sweat, Cosmi adjusted and won the starting job over Lucas. In his first NFL game against Joey Bosa, Cosmi struggled but continued to improve until an ankle injury in Week 5 cost him several weeks. - Cosmi returned before going out with a hip injury. - Already a dominant run blocker, the sky is the limit for Cosmi as he improves in pass protection. -   - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Washington Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Washington Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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