The Baltimore Ravens may or may not trade Orlando Brown Jr. but they’ll need a tackle sooner than later. Here are three 2021 NFL Draft prospects to consider:
1. Samuel Cosmi (Texas)
There may not be a player in the 2021 NFL Draft class who has nastier tape than Cosmi, and I very much mean that as a compliment. This is an offensive tackle who has incredible upper body strength and he regularly puts defensive linemen and edge rushers on the ground.
He’s a strong pass protector, but he’s a mean machine setting up the run. Basically, he’s everything the Ravens would look for in an Orlando Brown Jr. replacement. Cosmi looks the part. He’s listed at 6-7 and 309 pounds.
There really isn’t much not to like about Cosmi. The only knocks I wrote down on his game are fixable. He needs to do a better job sinking his hips as a blocker. He’s not the most athletic tackle prospect and sometimes speedy rushers will be able to jam him up inside. Nothing here makes me want to run away from this upside.
If you’re talking offensive tackles in the 2021 NFL Draft, Cosmi isn’t the first name that’s going to come up. Oregon’s Penei Sewell or Virginia Tech’s Christian Darrisaw should go before Cosmi. Rashawn Slater out of Northwestern would be perfect for Baltimore but the catch is he’d be perfect just about anywhere.
Cosmi is a player NFL evaluators are going to love or one they’re not going to get in line for. The thing with this year’s tackle class is that there are a lot of prospects with prototypical traits. Cosmi is one of them, but may not be the smoothest operating athlete available.
Cosmi is the mauler that fits the style of play in Baltimore. If you wanted to find the closest thing to Orlando Brown Jr., this is your guy.