Olu Fashanu’s Draft Profile | Penn State, OT Scouting Report

Many thought he’d declare in 2023, but Penn State OT Olu Fashanu is back to pace the 2024 NFL Draft class. What does his updated scouting report say about his projection, and is he still in the mix to lead the OT position in a stronger positional class? Let’s find out.

Olu Fashanu Draft Profile and Measurements

• Height: 6’6″
• Weight: 321 pounds
• Position: Offensive Tackle
• School: Penn State
• Current Year: Redshirt Junior

Jan. 1, 2022. That was the first start of Fashanu’s collegiate career. It was a bowl game substitution in relief of outgoing senior Rasheed Walker. Fashanu played his first game at left tackle against an SEC opponent — and he put up some very impressive reps.

It was just one game, of course. But Fashanu would later deliver on his promise and put together an All-American campaign in 2022, his first full year as a starter. He could have declared for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Just a reminder — should one be needed — that @PennStateFball's Olu Fashanu is set to be the best offensive tackle in #CollegeFootball this season #WeAre pic.twitter.com/TNzMeod4Zx

— College Football Network (@CFN365) May 11, 2023

However, Fashanu — an academic All-Big Ten honoree majoring in Supply Chain and Information Systems — chose to return to school and get his degree.

Despite being a fourth-year player, Fashanu is still just 21 years old and will be 21 for most of his rookie season. He’s still incredibly young, yet he already has the polish of a blue-chip NFL prospect.

Olu Fashanu Scouting Report

Strengths

• Tall, strong, and sturdy frame with excellent length and overall proportions.
• Amped-up mover for his size with excellent foot speed and short-area athleticism.
• Has stifling play strength at contact, quickly stalling rushers confined within his frame.
• Possesses the elite power capacity to displace defenders and drive them upfield easily.
• Easily reloads and re-exerts to maximize power on punches and has superb torque.
• Has the torso flexibility to recoil and quickly absorb initial shockwaves at contact.
• Has extremely natural leverage acquisition and knee bend, sustaining leverage on reps.
• Extremely well-balanced and well-leveraged in pass protection, with tremendous feel.
• Has a very stable blocking axis and effortlessly maintains the center of gravity on recovery.
• Can sequentially extend to lock out and gather opponents when matching to the apex.
• Has excellent timing and patience with extensions and maintains upper-lower synergy.
• Can bait rushers into going vertical with angular sets, then adjust and match vertically.
• Employs quick and controlled feet and can adjust his tempo to match rushers.
• Alert and unbothered blocker with lightning-quick reaction speed on stunts.
• Routinely capitalizes on imbalanced defenders and can finish opponents on the turf.

Weaknesses

• Doesn’t quite have elite range or change-of-direction in space as a moving blocker.
• Grip strength doesn’t always prevent defenders from working across the face.
• Sometimes, two-hand extensions are high, allowing rushers to shrink under the frame.
• Occasionally struggles to unhinge in recovery fully and can be late with recalibration.
• Sometimes fails to reset his feet while reacting and responding to stunts.
• Occasionally leans back past his center of gravity when tracking in pass pro.
• Exposes himself to power when he retracts his base by managing stunt positioning.
• Sometimes drifts too tall as a moving blocker and fails to sustain pulling blocks.
• Can still attain more consistency driving power from his base on run blocks.

Current Draft Projection and Summary

Fashanu is a blue-chip prospect and a top-10 talent in the 2024 NFL Draft on my board. In fact, on my board, he would have been the OT1 of the 2023 NFL Draft class over Paris Johnson Jr., Anton Harrison, and Darnell Wright if he had declared.

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Interestingly, Fashanu isn’t my OT1 in the 2024 NFL Draft class. That honor goes to Notre Dame’s Joe Alt. But Fashanu is one of several blue-chip OTs in the mix, and he’s a viable OT1 and top-five pick candidate at a premium position.

At 6’6″, 321 pounds, Fashanu has one of the most complete physical tools and operational utility marriages in the 2024 NFL Draft class. He’s a long, strong, powerful blocker who also brings high-end short-area mobility, rare recovery athleticism, a near-unshakable center of gravity, and the torquing capacity and core strength to finish blocks.

Meanwhile, on the technical side, Fashanu’s uncommon patience and composure help to maximize his footwork and hand usage.

He’s fleet-footed and malleable when matching rushers, and he has the combined independent hand usage, energy efficiency, and anchor strength to control rushers from start to finish on pass-protecting reps.

There are occasional lapses in balance on Fashanu’s tape, where he veers too high with his pads or is a bit late to recalibrate his base against power rushes. But overall, Fashanu has all-encompassing talent and technical refinement to be an impact starter at left tackle on Day 1 in the NFL. And at his ceiling, he can be an All-Pro player.

With this projection, at a premium position, Fashanu is undoubtedly worthy of top-10 capital in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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