Film room: Olumuyiwa Fashanu the pass protecting machine

Another offensive tackle options with the 13th pick

Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu might have been one of the top offensive tackles taken in last year’s NFL Draft. However, he opted to spend one more year in school, which could benefit the Las Vegas Raiders during the draft later this month.

Fashanu currently ranks 15th overall on NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board, meaning he’ll likely be available for the Raiders who need an offensive tackle. Granted, the immediate hole on Las Vegas’ roster is on the right side and the former Nittany Lion only took snaps on the left.

That being said, he has the athleticism to potentially switch sides of the center and hold down the right edge. Also, it helps that he has a very strong track record in pass protection, surrendering just 17 pressures (no sacks and one QB hit) on 697 opportunities during his college career, per Pro Football Focus.

Given that, let’s dive into Fashanu’s tape.

One concern about Fashanu transitioning to right tackle is he isn’t the best run-blocker and struggles to stay engaged with defensive linemen, which the clip above is a good example of.

Penn State runs duo, putting him on a down block against a 4i-technique. Initially, he does a good job of getting out of his stance and getting into the defender to generate some movement off the line of scrimmage. But take a look at his feet/base after contact.

Fashanu’s base gets very narrow when run-blocking and that causes him to lose power, allowing the defender to shed the block and factor into the tackle. This is something he’s going to have to clean up at the next level, especially if he goes to the Raiders and Antonio Pierce wants an offense that’s predicated on the running game.

Now, it’s not as if the former Nittany Lion is completely inept in the running game as the rep above is a good example of what he can do.

He’s on the backside of a mid-zone run where he’s responsible for reaching or cutting off a defensive lineman who has inside leverage pre-snap. Similar to the last clip, Fashanu’s get-off and initial footwork help take away the defender’s advantage almost immediately as he gets to square on the defender.

The tackle does a better — but not perfect — job of maintaining his base and runs his feet through contact to help stay engaged on the block. Also, he uses his size and upper body strength to maintain positioning and generate some vertical displacement, keeping his man away from the running back.

The good news is that Fashanu is a better fit in a zone-based rushing attack which Luke Getsy is rumored to run in Las Vegas.

As mentioned above, pass protection is where Fashanu stands out and he might be one of the best tackles in this year’s draft class at picking up line games.

This clip is a great example of why as Illinois tries to run a T/E stunt. Pay close attention to the tackle’s head as the defensive linemen start to twist. Before the edge rusher even finishes the inside cut, Fashanu gets his eyes inside and sees the defensive tackle coming. That prevents him from getting caught off-guard and picked by the stunt.

To finish, Fashanu gets aggressive by attacking the defender with his hands, preventing the defender from working a pass-rush move and negating the line game. It’s also worth noting that the defensive tackle here is Jer’Zhan Newton who, depending on who you talk to, is the second or best player at his position in this draft class.

Here, we’ll see a great rep against an inside move from the edge rusher.

Off the snap, Fashanu does a good job of splitting the edge’s crotch with his outside foot. That puts him in a position to ride the pass-rusher by if the rusher stays outside, or redirect and stay in front against an inside move that the rusher attempts on this rep.

Fashanu makes it look pretty easy as he has impressive change of direction skills and loose hips to stay square. Also, having a strong inside shoulder helps especially when the defender tries working a long-arm move. That allows him to neutralize the inside move and give the quarterback a clean pocket to throw from.

This time, Iowa’s edge defender is going to try and turn speed to power against the Penn State product. Occasionally, Fashanu does get caught with some wide hand placement, allowing defenders to get into his chest, which does happen here.

However, watch how he bends his knees to anchor and uses his upper body strength to raise the rusher’s shoulders. That takes away the rusher’s momentum and leverage, allowing the tackle to win despite giving up his chest.

Now, this can occasionally cause him trouble in pass protection and probably isn’t something he wants to rely on too much at the next level, but he has the tools to recover if need be.

We’ll wrap up here with an example of our subject’s use of hands in pass protection.

You might notice he likes to change up when he throws his punch. On this rep, he shoots his hands a little earlier than normal — especially compared to the previous rep — and knocks the defensive end’s inside arm down. That throws off the end’s balance and stops the end’s pass-rush move before it even gets started.

To finish, Fashanu gets his outside hand involved and stands up the pass-rusher, once again giving the quarterback a clean pocket to throw from as the offense puts six points on the board.