Should the Rams be eyeing Troy Fautanu in the draft?

Troy Fautanu was the starting left tackle at Washington and just played in the National Title Game. Could he be an option for the Rams?

The Rams have a few offensive linemen that will hit free agency which leads to the belief they will likely draft more help in the trenches this April. Could the Washington Husky left tackle Troy Fautanu be an option?

Fautanu is a two-year starter who will turn 24 at the end of the year. He was in charge of protecting the left side and keeping star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. upright. Fautanu did a pretty good job of that while only giving up two sacks in 2023 and only allowing 36 pressures in 1,061 pass protection snaps for his career.

Strengths

The Washington left tackle has outstanding footwork, he’s got very lively feet. Overall, he’s a very good athlete and does a nice job in pass protection because of it. He exhibits great flexibility for a tackle and his movement skills are there for him to excel in the run blocking game down the road.

He gets to the second-level with ease and looks like a tight end doing it. Fautanu’s hand placement is great and his hands are heavy, he’s really going to move people around at will when he’s in the right positioning. Due to the athletic profile, his awareness and the hands, Fautanu is a very solid puller. He’s got a very high football IQ and he’s a methodical pass protector who doesn’t play overly aggressive. Rarely will you catch him lunging and over-pursuing in pass protection.

Weaknesses

While Fautanu doesn’t have a defined weakness in that there’s not one specific archetype of pass rusher that can give him fits. It’s worth noting he’s not overly powerful and it will cause him to fail to finish blocks. He was called for 14 penalties in the last two years. Based on my film evaluation, I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being worse in the NFL with all the calls he got away with. I wouldn’t say he has balance issues but he does tend to get blown backward and lose his balance here and there.

As a run blocker, he whiffs more than I would like to see. He’s not as bad in the ground game blocking than some would say in my opinion. He tends to play at too fast of a pace in his pass sets and that can get him in bad positions which can lead to him falling into a rut. Fautanu has the ability to take control of any repetition but will find himself losing more than he should. I think the biggest concern with his game for me is the lack of trust he has in himself. You can see it clear as day on tape when he grabs a pass rusher’s jersey when he has already beaten the man in protection.

Does he make sense for the Rams?

I believe he does make sense for the Rams. In my estimation, Fautanu is an NFL tackle at the next level. His run blocking is an issue for him but I see enough flashes on film that lead me to believe he will be fine at the next level. He knows what it is like to play in big time games which is a great thing and uncommon thing. Not every tackle gets to experience playing in the College Football Playoff.

I believe he’s a second round talent that could go in the first round. It will be intriguing to see how the teams react to him playing left tackle. Most of the top tackles in this class surprisingly play right tackle. The Rams do not need a right tackle due to the fact they have a rock solid upper class one in Rob Havenstein. However, left tackle, it’s not even a guarantee last year’s starter Alaric Jackson returns seeing as he’s a restricted free agent and Joe Noteboom the Rams could decide to move on from as well.

I do not believe Fautanu is ready to make a serious impact as a starting left tackle right now but I think he displays enough at 6-foot-4 and 317 pounds for the Rams to mold into a starting tackle down the road. Could he be the franchise tackle of the future? I would not rule it out. If the Rams did draft Fautanu with their 19th pick I would call it a decent reach. In my mind, the Rams are likely drafting a starter in a year or two at tackle but he could also kick inside at guard depending on how the Rams want to handle their offensive line.

Pro Football Focus rated Fautanu the fifth-best pass blocker, 166th run blocker and 15th overall tackle in college football this past year. I think the Rams would be wise to keep Fautanu on their board and eye him with their second pick in the NFL Draft.