*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
Cosmi Looks Stronger
Updated Sept. 18, 2020By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
Passing the eyeball test is more challenging this year – due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting scouting – than it has been in any previous year for NFL prospects. As we detailed a few weeks ago, some NFL teams are not having their scouts hit the road to watch prospects or attend games this fall. Thus, prospects will get less exposure to team evaluators for showing improvement in their weight and strength. One player who teams wanted to see up close and improve in the eyeball test was Texas left tackle Sam Cosmi. While Cosmi has yet to be challenged significantly on the field, team sources say that Cosmi looks more physically developed this year than he did in 2019.
A year ago, sources told WalterFootball.com that they they liked Cosmi and thought he was a better prospect than Texas’ Connor Williams, a second-round pick by the Cowboys in 2018. They felt Cosmi was raw and needing development, but athletically, he was an interesting prospect. For the next level, they wanted to see Cosmi get stronger, and they felt he should go back to school to develop in the weight room. They noted that if he added more power, it would definitely improve his chances of being a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Sources who have seen Cosmi this fall say that Cosmi looks like he has grown stronger and added some good weight since the end of 2019.
Texas has not had a challenging opponent yet, so the jury is still out if the added strength is translating to functionality on the football field. Specifically, sources want to see if the weight helps him to anchor in pass protection. That part of the question will be answered in the weeks to come, but Cosmi is one prospect who is managing to improve his standing in the eyeball test in this young and coronavirus-limited season.
