2024 NFL Draft prospect profile: Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State

Can Fashanu realize his potential in the NFL?

Penn State left tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu is typically considered one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the country, and for good reason.

The 21-year old doesn’t have as much experience as some of the other prospects in this class, but his combination of size, athleticism, and competitive toughness has allowed him to thrive. He hasn’t allowed a single sack, and only allowed a single hit, in 733 pass blocking snaps.

If the New York Giants decide to add another offensive tackle in the draft, could they be attracted to Fashanu’s potential?

Prospect: Olu Fashanu (74)
Games Watched: vs. Illinois (2023), vs. Iowa (2023), vs. Ohio State (2023), vs. Michigan (2023)
Red Flags: Undisclosed injury (2022), Thigh (2024 NFL Scouting Combine)

Measurables

Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS.football

Strengths

• Size
• Athleticism
• Run blocking
• Pass protection
• Movement skills

Olu Fashanu has a prototypical blend of size, length, and athleticism for the offensive tackle position at the NFL level.

Fashanu is tall without being too tall at 6-foot-6, and carries his 312 pounds well. He has good thickness in his upper and lower body, with evident strength throughout his physique. He also doesn’t carry too much excess weight and is a very good athlete for the position.

He has a flexible, fluid lower body that allows him to sit into his stance with good leverage throughout the play. Fashanu is a natural knee bender who’s able to drop his hips and maintain good pad level in pass protection as well as run blocking. He also has flexible ankles and fluid hips, which gives him an easy, fluid kick-slide. Fashanu is able to widen the pocket when necessary, as well as mirror speed off the edge while still being able to redirect back inside. That allows him to deal with inside moves, delayed pressure, or inside rushes on stunts and twists.

Fashanu is also a good and versatile run blocker. He has the athleticism to stay in phase with his teammates when flowing laterally in outside zone runs, as well as the ability to climb to the second level off of double teams. Likewise, his hip fluidity allows him to open and get into space as a pulling tackle or as a blocker on screen plays. He also has the power to drive defenders off the ball when blocking downhill on man-gap power runs. He flashes a mean streak as a run blocker, as well as the ability to uncoil his hips and create movement when blocking with leverage.

Weaknesses

• Experience
• Hand usage
• Grip strength
• Balance

Fashanu has tremendous upside, however he isn’t there yet.

He’s an inexperienced tackle who has only been a starter for two years, the first of which was cut short by an undisclosed injury. He still needs development on the finer points of his craft to reach his full ceiling in the NFL. In particular, Fashanu’s hand usage is quite raw and inconsistent. He flashes the ability to deliver a good, hard, and well-aimed punch which allows him to control his opponent. However, there are far too many instances of his hands landing well outside of defenders’ framework.

Not only will that open him up to holding penalties at the NFL level, but it also compromised his length advantage and allowed defenders to make first contact and win inside leverage. That prevented Fashanu from using his length and power to control the match-up and instead had to focus on reacting to the defender and trying to lose slowly.

There were also too many instances of Fashanu failing to sustain his blocks because he couldn’t get a good grip on the defender.

Fashanu also appears to be a bit high-cut with long legs and a relatively high center of gravity. His lower body fluidity allows him to compensate for that, however he also lost balance relatively easily and spent a bit too much time on the ground.

Game Tape

(Fashanu is Penn State left tackle number 74)

Projection

Olu Fashanu projects as a starting offensive tackle at the NFL, though he may need a season or two of development in order to hit his full ceiling. He would likely be best served by staying as a left tackle, if only to keep developing him at a familiar position.

Fashanu flashes the potential to be a dominant offensive lineman, easily handling speed rushers, blunting stunts and blitzes, and blowing open holes in the run game. He also shows his inexperience and technical flaws that keep him from consistently playing up to his potential.

Issues with hand usage are hardly uncommon in offensive line prospects. Fashanu was able to get away with being bigger, stronger, and more athletic than most of his opponents in college. He’ll need to put in the work to become a technician in the NFL, however. He gives up his chest plate far too often, and NFL rushers will feast on those opportunities. That isn’t to say that Fashanu is a future bust, however, his high ceiling isn’t without some risk.

Does he fit the Giants?
Potentially. Though value and the need to develop him may not align.

Final Word: A strong first round value