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The Cincinnati Bengals’ second-round selection may be filled with options to fill in a hole along the offensive line. Right now, it appears Cincinnati is in desperate need of a right guard, but with Riley Reiff on essentially a one-year deal, the Bengals will need a long term solution at right tackle.
A prospect out of Texas may fill both of those needs.
Sam Cosmi
School: Texas
Position: Offensive tackle
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 314 pounds
Projected Round: Late First/Early Second
Normally, we wouldn’t be even entertaining the idea that someone of Cosmi’s status making it out of the first round. It just goes to show how deep this draft is with good tackles. The Longhorn has played both right and left tackle during his career, but he is also open to kicking inside at the NFL level.
“Being able, to you know, play multiple spots is very important, especially on the O-line,” Cosmi told The Draft Bible at Sports Illustrated. “So me being able to play right and left if that’s tackle, if that’s guard, and being able to be comfortable in both positions. And stances is something that’s very, very important. So I think that’s very beneficial for any team that you know, would pick me up.”
That willingness and ability to start at any non-center o-line position is one just aspect that makes Cosmi such an appealing prospect. He has ideal size, and he should easily be able to add a few extra pounds to help handle the NFL. He has amazing speed for his size as well, which makes him getting to the second level look easy.
The issues that Cosmi have aren’t anything earth-shattering. Some experts say he doesn’t show the ideal strength or explosion off the line. It seems like Cosmi is more ideal for a zone blocking scheme as well. He also needs to clean up some of the more technical aspects of his game where he looks a little stiff.
There isn’t any reason that Cosmi shouldn’t be starting somewhere along an NFL team’s offensive line Week 1. He just probably shouldn’t start out at left tackle.
Fit with the Bengals
Cosmi’s fit with Cincinnati is pretty ideal. He either starts at right tackle kicking Reiff inside to guard, or he starts at guard and eventually becomes a tackle when Reiff leaves. He would be an instant upgrade at right tackle or guard, and when you combine him with the other improvements along the offensive line, the 2021 line looks pretty solid.
The interior o-line was a huge issue for the Bengals last season, and Cosmi would instantly fix plenty of those problems just by being solid. He will be prone to rookie mistakes, and he may have issues at times dealing with the power inside rushers will hit him with. The hope is that the good will far out weigh the bad and the experience from his rookie season will be valuable down the road.