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What grades did Washington get on Day 2?

Solid picks or missed opportunities?

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 22 TCU at Texas Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

There is a long tradition of people giving draft picks a grade less than 24 hours after they’ve been made. Some of them are spot on after the players have shown who they are after a few years in the league, and some of them look pretty bad. A lot of graders get stuck on their personal rankings, and will tank a player’s selection because of that. How a player fits with a team, and their needs plays a big part here as well.

Jamin Davis got mixed reviews as Washington’s 1st round pick(19th overall). Washington opened day 2 by picking up the most athletic offensive tackle in the draft(Sam Cosmi, Texas). In the 3rd round they picked up a tall cornerback(Benjamin St-Juste, Minnesota) and another speedy wide receiver(Dyami Brown, North Carolina). Graders were general positive on Washington for their Day 2 selections, but there were some lower grades for St-Juste.

How did Washington do on Day 2? What do they need to address on Day 3?

Hogs Haven

Sam Cosmi, OT, Texas (A)

Benjamin St-Juste (A)

Dyami Brown (A)

NFL.com (A)

Day 1 grade: B+

Analysis: Washington addressed its need at offensive tackle midway through the second round, even though fans probably wanted that position handled in the first. Cosmi can play either side of the line, and he has plus athleticism, if not a lot of bulk — which is why he ended up available at No. 51. St-Juste was a solid value in the third round. He’s a tall, athletic drink of water who will provide depth behind Kendall Fuller and free-agent signee William Jackson. Adding Curtis Samuel in free agency and Brown — a quick playmaker capable of lining up in multiple spots — as a third-round pick significantly upgrades the Football Team’s receiver group.

NBC Sports (A-)

Cosmi brings plenty of physicality and toughness at 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds. He’s also versatile enough to play both left and right tackle.

St-Juste was one of the best picks in the third round. He has the potential to be a very good cornerback thanks to, among other attributes, impressive size at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds.

Draft Wire

Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

A fantastic blend of need and value here for Washington, landing a pro-ready left tackle in Cosmi. He should have been off the board by now, and other teams will regret taking the tackles they did ahead of him. It’s hard to find immediate starters at premium positions this late, and Washington did just that. GRADE: A

Ben St-Juste, CB, Minnesota

With all the playmaking wide receivers in the NFC East, you’d better have corners with height, length and athleticism to hang with them. St-Juste brings all of that and more, as one of the best sleeper prospects in this year’s corner class. GRADE: B

Dyami Brown, WR, UNC

They may not have a franchise quarterback, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to have some serious weapons in Washington this season. Brown was talked about as a potential surprise pick in the first round, so landing his explosiveness and big-play ability at this point is a huge win. GRADE: A

Sporting News

Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

Grade: A

Cosmi’s size, strength and high effort can make him effective and efficient working at either tackle. Washington will consider this borderline first-round talent as a much-needed rock for the left side

Benjamin St-Juste, CB, Minnesota

Grade: B

Washington added some cornerback help opposite newcomer William Jackson III which could allow it to put Kendall Fuller into the slot. St-Juste has a promising blend of toughness and smarts to go with his big lean coverage frame.

Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina

Grade: B-

Washington developed a real need for speed at wideout to help burner Terry McLaurin. The team signed former Panther Curtis Samuel for quickness and big-play ability in the slot and now adds a blazing fast deep threat for when it spreads the field outside. Scott Turner now has enough home-run hitters to play well off the power running game. The team just has to hope Brown can develop some substance with his flash over time.

CBS Sports

Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

Grade: B-

Got stronger in 2020, which he needed to do. And he tested through the roof at his pro day, but doesn’t play to that level of athleticism on the field. Needs to clean up his feet. But technically sound in pass pro. WFT needed OL reinforcement.

Ben St-Juste, CB, Minnesota

Grade: B

Long, angular, athletic cornerback who’ll be a better pro than he was in college. Glides around the field and has serious length to disrupt. Not the fastest but makes up for speed with length. Nice pairing with William Jackson.

Dyami Brown, WR, UNC

Grade: B+

Vertical route tree monster. Great in contested catch situations. Smart beating press at the line and physical through contact. So much speed in Washington now.

Yahoo Sports

Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

The first-round chatter for Cosmi felt like a reach, but here? This is a good spot for the light-footed tackle who has experience at both OT spots. He’s not a mauler in the run game but an effective mover who can handle pass-rush speed pretty well. Nice pick at a need spot. He was our 51st-ranked player. Grade: B-

Ben St-Juste, CB, Minnesota

A long corner who is best in press coverage and can add to a pretty solid secondary. At 6-3 with 33-inch arms, St-Juste can lock with bigger receivers but is taxed by great speed. He’ll need some time to adjust to the quickness of the NFL game and has a leaner build but is an interesting long-game play. Grade: C-

Dyami Brown, WR, UNC

We’re a bit surprised to see Brown still on the board even though we had him at No. 63 overall. Brown is a speed merchant with a lean frame and a passing tree that will need to be expanded. But he can fly and gives Ryan Fitzpatrick a 9-ball target to add another dimension to this offense. His best football might be ahead of him. Grade: A+

The Athletic

Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

There’s a lot to like about Cosmi (6-foot-6, 314 pounds). He was durable (34 consecutive starts) and has experience playing both left tackle and right tackle. Cosmi is not a finished product, but he has athletic traits and has the potential to be a quality starting tackle. He fills a need for Washington and should be able to help them right away. Grade: B

Benjamin St-Juste, CB, Minnesota

St-Juste (6-foot-3, 202) began his college career at Michigan before transferring to Minnesota, where he started 14 games over the past two seasons. He missed all of 2018 with a hamstring injury and turns 24 in September. Washington is counting on its coaching staff to be able to develop St-Juste quickly. Grade: C

Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina

He has the profile of a wide receiver who could have gone off the board much earlier. Brown (6-foot-1, 189 pounds) was a highly productive college player with 123 catches for 2,306 yards and 21 touchdowns. He showed the ability to make plays downfield, averaging 18.7 YPR. Drops were sometimes an issue for Brown, but he’s strong, showed excellent body control and ran a 4.44.

It would be no surprise to see Brown outperform the wide receivers taken ahead of him. This is one of my favorite picks of the third round. Grade: A

Pro Football Network

Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

Samuel Cosmi has elite athleticism and overwhelming power. He has the natural physical traits to be a high-level starter in time. This is a home run pick for a Washington team that needs to have one eye on the future of their offensive line. Grade: A

Benjamin St-Juste, CB, Minnesota

Benjamin St-Juste had a good Senior Bowl showing, and he has some intriguing change-of-direction skills for his size. This pick appears to be a slight reach for the Washington Football Team and is a pick that could have been used more effectively. Grade: C-

Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina

Receiving one of the best grades, not just of the third round, but on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft is Dyami Brown to Washington. Brown is a pure boundary threat, who has the burst, top-end speed, and elaborate release pattern to get open downfield. Grade: A

Football Outsiders

Samuel Cosmi, T, Texas

Cosmi lists at 6-foot-7 but looks shorter on film, which is often a sign that he’s a natural knee-bender who knows how to avoid being out-leveraged. He has a quick, smooth backpedal and is as good as any offensive tackle in this class at mirroring his defender’s moves.

Cosmi gets bull rushed a little too easily and ducks his head too often when blocking, but I love his pass protection mirroring so much I can live with a few flaws. I think Cosmi can develop into a high-end starter and excellent pass-protector. I had him graded ahead of several players who were already selected. Grade: A-

Benjamin St. Juste, CB, Minnesota

When Jim Harbaugh offered him a full scholarship at the end of a Michigan tryout camp, the French-speaking St. Juste’s English was so weak that he didn’t have any idea what Harbaugh was telling him. St. Juste only found out a week later from the guidance department at his Montreal high school that he had earned a free ride to one of the most prestigious football programs on the continent.

You can read my full Fansided interview with St. Juste here.

I refer to St. Juste as the “French-Canadian Richard Sherman” in the headline to that profile because, you know, clickety-clicks. St. Juste has Sherman’s size and a touch of Sherman’s personality, but it would be unfair to compare his game to Sherman in any way. That said, he’s a tall, well-built, competitive cornerback with A-plus-plus off-field habits. He may max out as a situational matchup defender, but he should have a long, fine career. Grade: B

Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina

Brown was the designated deep threat for a loaded Tar Heels offense which also featured Dazz Newsome and running backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams. Brown has the speed to eat cushions and gain separation, but he’s strictly a boundary receiver. He dropped 16 passes over the past two seasons according to Sports Info Solutions and can also be seen on film double-clutching on what should be routine receptions.

Brown’s production over back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons makes him worth a long look (a Playmaker Rating of 84.7% bears mentioning), but Washington may have just drafted a one-dimensional vertical threat who is just fast enough to defeat ACC cornerbacks.

That said, Washington needs a deep threat, and pickings are starting to get a little slim. Grade: B

Pro Football Focus

Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

Pick Grade: Elite

Cosmi is easily one of the most athletic offensive tackles in this class. That athleticism, along with his size, is always going to interest teams. Cosmi also earned pass-blocking grades of at least 82.0 in three consecutive seasons as a starter at Texas. There are some things he’ll have to clean up with his technique in the NFL, but there is a lot to like with his profile coming out of college. He should compete with several in-house options for the starting left tackle job in Washington.

Ben St-Juste, CB, Minnesota

Pick: Average

St-Juste brings a rare combination of length and change-of-direction ability at cornerback. The Minnesota cornerback is listed at 6-foot-3 with over an 80-inch wingspan, and his three-cone and short shuttle times both ranked in the 90th percentile or better at the position. You won’t find many big cornerbacks who can move like that. St-Juste just isn’t all that experienced (420 career coverage snaps) despite turning 24 years old in September.

Dyami Brown, WR, UNC

Pick: Very Good

Ranked 45th on the PFF Big Board, Brown falls to 82 overall. Brown wasn’t asked to fill a lot of roles at North Carolina, as he played left wide receiver almost every snap, but he’s a great route runner and you can project that onto the more advanced route tree he will have to run at the next level. He fills out the Washington receiving corps nicely.

Draft Kings Nation

Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

Grade: C

Cosmi has great measurables, but many scouts didn’t love what they saw on tape. He’ll need to get more consistent to stick as a starter.

Benjamin St-Juste, DB, Minnesota

Grade: B-

St-Juste has all the measurables to play in the NFL. But he is raw and needs a lot of work on fundamentals. But he can tackle with the best of them and is worth the investment.

Dyami Brown, WR, UNC

Grade: B

Brown was expected to go higher than this by some, but his suspect hands likely kept teams away. He’s a strong deep ball receiver and was productive in college. His work in short areas needs work and he likely will never have an extensive route tree. But in the end, his production and tenacity make up for a lot of faults.