Washington Football Team: 3 players we’re watching closely in preseason opener

1. OT Sam Cosmi

Sam Cosmi, like Dyami Brown, has benefitted from missed time at training camp by veterans at his position. Cornelius Lucas missed most of the first two weeks of training camp when he was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list to start camp. That, and Lucas’s build-up back to football shape after getting off the list, has allowed Cosmi to get almost all of the first-team reps at RT.

When training camp was in its early stages, Cosmi had a rude awakening to NFL competition. Going against two of the games best edge rushers in Chase Young and Montez Sweat, Cosmi struggled early on.

He was not quick enough in firing his hands into the correct positioning to win those critical hand-fights in the trenches. Other times. his hand placement was far too low and the Football Team’s dynamic edge rushers whipped by him.

However, Cosmi has steadily improved as training camp has waned on. He specifically saw an uptick in his play when the pads came on. That is a good sign to see from a player who must thrive at handling and creating the contact.

Cosmi has been better prepared to win hand fights along the line and better equipped to defeat countermoves. The 22-year-old’s technique has steadily improved as well, according to Logan Paulsen on the John Keim Report.

That was one of Cosmi’s biggest flaws coming out of Texas, he was a physically gifted, raw tackle prospect. If he proves that he can improve his technique at such an early stage, there is not much stopping him from being the team’s starting right tackle.

He already has immense athletic upside, so watching how Cosmi handles other competition will be key. Specifically, be on the lookout for how his technique in pass protection looks and how adept he is at learning from his mistakes.

Cosmi could be well on his way to being the week one starting right tackle. Have other players you will be watching against the Patriots on Thursday? Leave them in the comments below!