Washington Football Team: Sam Cosmi disrespected by NFL.com’s rookie rankings

The jury is still out on the Washington Football Team‘s first two picks from the 2021 draft. Obviously. It’s still very early.

Aside from a few rookies — like Rashawn Slater, Micah Parsons and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, among a few others — that have exceeded scouts’ wildest expectations thus far, most Year 1 players are still finding their footing in the NFL.

The same can be said for Jamin Davis and Sam Cosmi. As far as Davis is concerned, Jon Bostic’s season-ending pec injury presents him with a golden opportunity to show the coaching staff what he’s made of. Or not. Who knows?

Cosmi, on the other hand, was thrust into an every down role from the jump. In a vacuum, the second-round pick has performed extremely well at right tackle. If you’ve noticed, the offensive line as a unit, including Cosmi, hasn’t been discussed much in recent weeks. That’s normally a good thing.

It is. So, why is Cosmi struggling to garner recognition as one of the top performing rookies in the 2021 class? We’ll rattle off some of his stats in a minute, but the Texas product was completely left off NFL.com’s rookie rankings list.

The list featured 25 players, folks. 25!

Washington Football Team OT Sam Cosmi should feel slighted by NFL.com’s rookie rankings.

We get it, alright. There’s A LOT of rookies in the NFL, and A LOT are performing at a high level. But sorry, you can’t tell us there’s currently 25 first-year players in better form than Cosmi.

Over 247 snaps, Cosmi has conceded just two penalties and one sack, according to Pro Football Focus. Those are impressive numbers for a player who was bullied in Week 1 by Joey Bosa. In fact, over the last two weeks, Cosmi has allowed just one pressure on 86 pass-blocking snaps.

Remember, we’re talking about a player who switched from left tackle to right tackle this year. It’s impossible to put into words how complicated that transition is, and Cosmi has handled it without a hitch.

The former Longhorn currently owns a 73.7 overall grade from PFF, good for the seventh-highest among all rookies through Week 3. His 85.3 run blocking grade is nearly perfect Despite all that, Cosmi didn’t sniff NFL.com’s list. We’re not asking him to rank in the top five, but not even an honorable mention?

How does someone like Rondale Moore, who has just 16 receptions through four games, check in at No. 17? How does someone like Zach Wilson, who’s leading the NFL with eight interceptions, check in at No. 22? Jets running back Michael Carter rounded out the list at No. 25. He’s currently averaging 3.4 yards per carry.

See what we’re saying? Those are all talented players with high ceilings, but Moore and Carter aren’t even focal points of their respective offenses! Cosmi plays a role on every single offensive snap and has largely played mistake-free football since Week 1. It’s just further evidence that RTs aren’t shown enough love.

We don’t need NFL.com’s evaluation of Cosmi (or lack thereof) to validate the success he’s had over his first four games. Washington fans are fully aware of the impact he’s made on the offense. However, we just couldn’t sit idly by and let this list go unnoticed, because Cosmi deserved better. A lot better.

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