The Washington Football Team had one of the better offensive lines in the NFL in 2020. According to Pro Football Focus, by the end of the season, Washington had the No. 6 offensive line in the NFL.
Despite last season’s success, Washington coach Ron Rivera wanted to shake things up in 2021. Veteran Cornelius Lucas filled in at left tackle admirably in 2020, but he was never considered the long-term answer.
Then, Washington drafted Sam Cosmi in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft. A few weeks later, Washington signed veteran offensive tackle Charles Leno, who the Chicago Bears surprisingly released. Washington also reacquired guard Ereck Flowers from the Miami Dolphins.
Washington released longtime starter Morgan Moses and former third-round pick Geron Christian in response to those moves.
So, for Week 1, Washington’s offensive line consisted of Leno, Ereck Flowers, Chase Roullier, Brandon Scherff and Cosmi. While Cosmi struggled in the opener, he has been one of the NFL’s top run-blocking tackles through five weeks and is a significant reason why PFF has Washington’s offensive line ranked in the top 10 entering Week 6.
PFF recently ranked Washington’s offensive line No. 9 — six spots higher than a week ago:
Rookie Samuel Cosmi bounced back after a tough Week 1 performance and has continued his strong preseason play into his rookie year. Cosmi is the best-graded lineman on the team, and his 89.0 PFF run-blocking grade ranks inside the top 10 of all offensive linemen, tied with Dallas’ Tyron Smith — one of the best tackles in the game so far. All six linemen with at least 100 snaps for Washington this season have overall PFF grades between 69.9 and 77.0, providing quarterback Taylor Heinicke a pretty stable platform to work from.
Cosmi did not practice on Wednesday after leaving Sunday’s loss to the Saints with an ankle injury. Fortunately, Washington was able to plug Lucas in at right tackle.
Washington will also be without All-Pro guard Brandon Scherff for the second consecutive week on Sunday.
While Washington’s defensive line receives most of the accolades, it is the offensive line that continues to get the job done.
