If the Pittsburgh Steelers select a tackle in the first round, it would not be surprising if that happens. But it could raise some eyebrows depending on who that tackle would be. And Nick Wright’s mock draft did just that, as the team landed Penn State’s Olu Fashanu. Largely thought to be going to earlier than 20th overall, Pittsburgh lands Fashanu and gets the consensus second-best tackle in the class.
Wright is not the only one who mocked Fashanu to the Steelers in recent weeks, with Bruce Feldman doing the same thing two weeks ago.
“After grabbing Broderick Jones, another offensive tackle, in the first round last year, I think Pittsburgh will pick between a tackle or Oregon strongman center Jackson Powers-Johnson. There are some good options at tackle between JC Latham, Amarius Mims and Tyler Guyton, but the hunch is that the Steelers grab Fashanu, a bright, long, gifted big man. He was inconsistent last year but has intriguing potential at 6-6 and 312 pounds. At Penn State, where he was a team captain, he went up against many elite speed rushers every day at practice. Given his attitude and intelligence, he’s a good bet to continue to add polish to his game,” Feldman wrote.
Spanning 2020 to 2023, the 6-foot-5 tackle was a stabilizing presence on the Nittany Lions offensive line the past two seasons. The team captain kept his quarterback off the grass on 646 snaps, an incredible run of consistency. Fashanu took home the Rimington-Pace Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year award and first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2023 by conference coaches after being second-team last year.
To say the least, Fashanu is a projected Top-10 pick, and if the Steelers could pick him 20th overall, that would be a heist. The four tackles mentioned earlier in the article seem likelier at that spot. Still, if Fashanu experiences a fall, and in some mocks, he has fallen farther than most would think, it is not hard to believe that the Steelers would be highly interested in what Fashanu brings to the table. Fashanu is just that good, and he would be a plug-and-play starter for Pittsburgh from the moment he comes into the building.
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