Troy Fautanu looks to be the early consensus pick for the Seahawks

Could the former Huskies lineman follow his coach to the NFL?

It is no secret that the Seattle Seahawks entered the 2024 offseason with a number of needs, and they have not been able to address all of these through free agency. One particular area of concern is the vacancy left by interior offensive lineman Damien Lewis, who is now with the Carolina Panthers. While the Seahawks added Anthony Bradford and Olu Oluwatimi in the 2023 draft and signed Nick Harris, they may not be done adding competition.

Offensive line in general seems to be the consensus draft target for the Seahawks, but possibly the most popular individual name that is getting connected to the team early on is that of Troy Fautanu. Fautanu was a standout at tackle for the Washington Huskies, though he is expected to be able to fit in at guard as a pro. He has two full years of starting experience from 2022-2023, and he saw significant playing time in 2022. Suffice to say he has seen some action.

This “Seattle Connection” isn’t exactly new, as he has been getting mocked to the Seahawks for some time now; the connection to offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is certainly noteworthy. Beyond this familiarity, though, Fautanu is simply a highly-regarded player with starting experience at a school that just competed for a national championship. In addition to that, he gets described with words like “nasty,” and “hard-nosed.” I think we can all agree that adding some hard-nosed nastiness is a positive for any offensive line.

Below are some of the excerpts of what the experts assert.

One of the “winners” of the pre-draft cycle, Fautanu reunites with former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who now holds the same title with the Seahawks. Though set at tackle, Seattle’s interior line is inadequate, and Fautanu fits at guard. Wrote Bugler: “He flashes violence with his hands and makes defenders feel it when he connects.”

– Ben Standig, the Athletic

This is another team whose free agent moves haven’t filled the need I identified in my previous mock draft. Former starting guard Damien Lewis got a big deal from Carolina, while the other guard spot is going to be an open competition. Seattle has to add O-line reinforcements with this pick.

Fautanu, my top-ranked guard, played mostly as the left tackle in college, starting 28 games. But he played 114 snaps at guard too. And while he has the size to be a tackle in the NFL (6-foot-4, 317 pounds), I see the potential for him to be an All-Pro guard. He is hard-nosed and nasty when he latches on to defenders. The Seahawks offense will look a lot different with new coordinator Ryan Grubb, but they would do well to add Fautanu to build up the interior of their line.

– Mel Kiper, ESPN

Fautanu reunites with Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who was his OC at UW. Fautanu can play tackle, but he would slide in at guard as a rookie with the ‘Hawks.

– Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com

The Seahawks have outstanding offensive tackles, but their interior offensive line could use help. Fautanu would be a flawless fit, as he’s the clear top IOL in the draft and just played for new Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb at Washington.

Eric Galko, CBS NFL

To his credit, his athleticism is definitely impressive.

While Troy Fautanu’s name seems to be coming up with the most frequency, he isn’t the only player who is gaining some traction as a possible fit in Seattle. Another name to watch is Jackson Powers-Johnson, who has recently seen his name connected with the Seahawks in mocks from Connor Rogers at NBC and Chris Trapasso at CBS, among others. Powers-Johnson is “built like a guard but moves like the center he is,” according to Trapasso, so this versatility would certainly be a plus. In any case, the team needs to add some more competition on the offensive line; what remains to be seen is with what level of urgency they will do so.