The 2024 NFL draft is still months away, but teams and experts are furiously going through every crumb of information they can before over 250 players hear their names called during the annual selection process in April.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Matt Miller released his player comparisons for this year’s group of draft prospects that he believes are worthy of first-round grades.
While 16 players received first-round grades, one stood out because he was compared to a current Miami Dolphins offensive tackle.
Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu is expected to be one of the first offensive linemen selected in a draft that’s rich at the position following a collegiate career that included a consensus All-American final season.
Miller compares Fashanu to Dolphins left tackle Terron Armstead, who was a third-round pick of the New Orleans Saints back in 2013 out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Here’s what Miller had to say about Fashanu:
“A long-armed, easy-moving left tackle, Fashanu is a massive man at 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds. The 20-year-old started 20 games over the past two seasons, allowing one sack in that time while being flagged only four times. He’s powerful and agile, and he is still getting better with more reps. Fashanu has the tools to become a top-five NFL left tackle.”
Armstead has been a Second-team All-Pro once and a Pro Bowler five times in his career, which is incredible considering the jump he had to make from a SWAC school to the NFL.
Fashanu will almost certainly be gone by the time the Dolphins are on the clock, but if some team is getting the type of player that Armstead has been in his career when healthy, they should be ecstatic about that.