The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Olu Fashanu.
Olu Fashanu 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS
- Height: 6-foot-6
- Weight: 312
- 40-yard dash: 5.11
- 10-yard split: 1.77
- Vertical jump: 32"
- Broad jump: 9-foot-1
- Arm length: 34"
Olu Fashanu 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
STRENGTHS
- Has outstanding size and length for a left tackle and shows the technique and lower-body strength to handle speed-to-power rushers
- His strength is consistently evident in pass protection; his ability to anchor vs. speed-to-power is one of his best traits.
- High-level traits include size, arm length and overall movement
- Uses his arms effectively to control edge rushers
- Smooth, efficient kick slide on 45-degree and vertical sets, with good balance, a firm base and hands in strike position
- Has the agility and lateral quickness to effectively react to inside counter moves, and he stayed balanced retracing his steps.
- Has the core strength and lateral agility to stop at the top of the arc and re-direct, while staying balanced with a solid base
- Showed excellent poise, awareness and accelerated vision in recognizing and reacting to stunts and pressures
- Generated strength-power as run blocker with his first and second steps, and he kept his hands inside with a lift through his hips
- In 2023, he flashed the strength and natural power to drive, sustain and finish blocks in the run game.
- During pass-protection snaps, he deployed an independent arm technique to gain control early in reps by staying balanced.
WEAKNESSES
- On some vertical set snaps, he labored to get to his spot, resulting in over-sets and susceptibility to inside counters.
- There were pass-protection snaps in which his hand usage was not efficient, creating balance and body control issues.
- Tends to play with a high pad level, especially as a run blocker, which results in a reduction in power and sustainability
- The 2022 tape showed Fashanu to be better in pass protection than as a run blocker. He must channel his strength better.
- In 2023, at times late with his hands on 45-degree and vertical pass sets, allowing the rusher to make first contact
- Can look mechanical and robotic at times in his pass sets with his body position too upright and his movement stiff
- Quick combination pass-rush moves can cause issues with his balance, bringing body-control issues into play
- At times as a drive and base-run blocker, he can get a little too high and upright because he narrows his base and loses power
- Some pass-protection snaps where the rusher timed an independent arm strike and countered inside with quickness
NFL TRANSITION
Fashanu has the prototypical height/weight/build profile that teams look for in an NFL offensive tackle. Pass protection is his greatest strength as you transition him to the next level.
Fashanu consistently showed a smooth, efficient kick slide with clean footwork and excellent body position and balance to seal the outside arc and cut off inside counters, while also featuring calculated hand strikes to slow and disrupt pass rushers' timing and tempo. What consistently stood out in pass protection was Fashanu's play strength and grip strength to effectively anchor without giving ground to absorb and engulf a speed-to-power pass rush. Pass protection is the strength of Fashanu’s game due to his outstanding length, measured movement to position his body effectively, the power in his hands to control pass rushers and the overall strength to shut down speed-to-power.
Where Fashanu needs to improve is as a run blocker. He has the length and natural power to drive and down block effectively and the athletic mobility to climb to the second level, but there is a tightness and stiffness to his movement and a narrowing of his base as he tries to sustain. The result is he too often gets overextended and falls off the block.
Overall, Fashanu is a good not great left tackle prospect, but there is some stiffness and robotic tightness to his movement at times. It will be interesting to see early in his career how he matches up to the better and more refined and nuanced NFL edge rushers. The question is whether he can block them on an island, or will he need formation and chip and double team help to get the job done in high-leverage down and distance situations. Fashanu’s lack of movement fluidity and lower body stiffness could be an issue at the next level, and it would not be surprising if he struggled in one-on-one pass protection. The question is can that be coached and fixed? It may not be given that it’s a function of his body and not a technique that coaching can correct.
OTHER NOTES
Fashanu came out of Gonzaga High School (the same school as Caleb Williams) in Washington, D.C. as a three-star recruit. He started his final two seasons at Penn State, earning Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2023.
Some concerns with Fashanu in pass protection showed up in the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game. He had balance and body control issues while showing a tendency to reach, lunge and get out of position to re-direct vs. counters. There were snaps he looked stiff and mechanical.
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