Lions UDFA Profile: C Leif Fautanu

During the 2025 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions beefed up the interior of their offensive line. Brad Holmes & Co. selected Tate Ratledge in the second round and Miles Frazier in the fifth round, trading up for both players. Shortly after the draft concluded, Holmes signed one more interior offensive lineman, that being Arizona State center Leif Fautanu. 

Leif Fautanu was part of an upstart Arizona State team that caught the college football world by storm in 2024, going from 3-9 in 2023 to earning a College Football Playoff bye on an 11-3 campaign. For both teams, Fautanu was the center, calling out protections for the Sun Devils.

Despite his honors, from being the 2023 Team MVP to a Walter Camp Second Team All-American in 2024, the center found himself on the outside looking in for both the NFL Combine and NFL Draft. The Hawaiian is now amidst the Lions rookie minicamp, starting the grind to earn a spot on the 53-man roster in September.

Strengths

The biggest strength for Fautanu is his experience. Among all players in the draft class, he participated in the second-most games, 54 to be exact, and was among the top three in college football for snaps played among centers, nearing 3400 on his career. Of those snaps, over 1800 of them have come at the Power Four level with ASU. 

This experience pays off in pass protection, as the center had the best PFF grade at his position in pass pro, alongside the seventh-best among all lineman in 2024. He did not allow Sun Devil quarterback Sam Leavitt to be sacked once all of last season. As a result, the Sun Devils had 700 more passing yards and over three times the amount of passing touchdowns compared to their 2023 campaign. 

Part of this comes from Fautanu’s arm length, another key strength of the center. His 34-inch arms are the top in his class among the 70 listed centers in Dane Brugler’s “The Beast” NFL Draft Guide. Any mistakes can easily be erased with that much length at the center’s disposal. 

If his impressive snap counts are not a clue, durability has never been a concern for the lineman, either. He flirted with back-to-back “ironman” campaigns in the 2023-24 seasons for the Sun Devils, completing all but one offensive snap, which came in his first season in Tempe. Fittingly, that one missed snap only came about from his helmet popping off. 

The last time he missed a game occurred in 2020, when he played for UNLV. He ended his collegiate career with 39 straight starts.

On top of being an All-American on the football field, Fautanu was a leader for the Sun Devils off the field, too. He was named part of their inaugural Pat Tillman Leadership Council, as voted on by his peers on the team. Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham has praised the center to NFL Network, calling him a hard worker. 

Weaknesses

As far as weaknesses go, the main knock against Fautanu was a lack of athleticism. He graded poorly in his relative athletic score, being graded No. 445 of 673 centers dating back to 1987. Most of his scores rank among the bottom half, which scares scouts away. 

Additionally, despite his long arms, size is a concern for the center. He was the third shortest among draft-eligible Power Four centers this draft, and was among the bottom third for his class in the weight category, as well. 

Despite the loads of praise and accolades for Fautanu, he also suffered from the Arizona State offensive line having struggles. While the center was not part of the problem, a lack of dominating tape slid the center down the board on draft day. 

A mark of 22 reps on the bench press was one of the main alarming parts of Fautanu’s Pro Day, as that mark would be second-worst among centers at his position, and in the bottom-10 among all offensive lineman, defensive lineman, and tight ends in the NFL Combine. 

The tape called him a pass pro-first center, and the main mark for strength in a lineman in the pre-draft process re-affirmed that opinion.  

One game that pops out in the struggle category for Fautanu was a loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats in October. The Sun Devils had six runs that were stopped for a loss or for no gain, including a fourth-and-one situation being stopped for a loss of a yard. After the game, the center credited the Bearcats for playing more physical than him and the rest of the Sun Devils. 

Overall, Fautanu enters rookie minicamp competing with 2024 UDFA Kingsley Eguakun, who signed with the Lions and did not make the active roster last year. Both look to be the backup for longtime starter Frank Ragnow. It is worth noting that the Lions plan to train Ratledge and Frazier at multiple positions during minicamp, as well. 

Fautanu is a player that offers a lot of upside, especially against the pass. If the Lions can add more physicality to his game, he becomes a player that can inherit the center spot once Ragnow hangs up his cleats. For now, Fautanu is a player that is looking to impress the coaches during live drills and the preseason games coming in a few months.

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