As a team, the Washington Huskies walked away from the NFL combine as arguably its biggest winners thanks to an impressive display of speed, athleticism, and excelling in on field drills at multiple positions. That success is starting to show up on media draft boards, namely NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah’s board, who released the latest edition of his top 50 prospects on Thursday.
Jeremiah has championed wide receiver Rome Odunze throughout the draft process, calling him his favorite player in the draft and has aptly placed him as his No. 3 overall player on his board. However, Odunze has held that spot for Jeremiah all winter, while a few other Huskies saw a rise on Jeremiah’s third big board.
Offensive tackle Troy Fautanu has become a popular riser after his impressive performance in Indianapolis and climbed five spots to No. 12 on Jeremiah’s board. The rise moved him to OT3 on the board behind No. 9 Taliese Fuaga from Oregon State and No. 10 Joe Alt from Notre Dame.
“Fautanu is an explosive left tackle prospect for the Huskies. He has average height and a thick, square build with long arms. In pass pro, he is a very easy mover, bends well and has a sharp/jolting punch,” Jeremiah said.
“He redirects smoothly and is a nasty helper when uncovered. His biggest issue is when he gets overaggressive and loses his balance trying to pummel pass rushers instead of playing with more patience. In the run game, he can get underneath defenders and uproot them at the point of attack. He is very explosive as a puller and on screens, with the ability to get all the way to the third level in a hurry. He does have some starting experience at guard, and some NFL teams will project him inside. Overall, I view Fautanu as a starting tackle with positional flexibility to play all five O-line spots if needed.”
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. also received a bump, climbing five spots to No. 33. That ranking leaves him at QB6 on the board and just outside the first round on this board, but closes the gap between the runner up for the Heisman Trophy and Oregon’s Bo Nix, who is four spots above him at No. 29.
“Penix spins the ball better than anyone that threw today,” Jeremiah posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday after his on-field performance at the NFL combine.
Safe to say @themikepenix really impressed at the Combine đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/cCnp8Ti0cE
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 3, 2024
With just under two months until the draft begins, the Huskies will have another opportunity to continue rising during Washington’s pro day on March 28.