The New Orleans Saints entered the 2024 NFL draft desperately needing to address their offensive line, and that’s still true in this Bleacher Report re-draft. B/R’s Matt Holder kept the Saints’ theme of selecting an offensive tackle. This time the Saints went with Penn State’s Olu Fashanu opposed to the actual pick of Taliese Fuaga, who went to the Seattle Seahawks a few slots later. Fashanu was available because the New York Jets selected former LSU wide receiver Malik Nabors instead.
This re-draft was based on buzz coming out of minicamp and organized team activities. Players rose and fell in this draft based on how they performed in their first taste of NFL practices.
The New Orleans Saints were looking to find a new left tackle when they took Fuaga during the real draft in April. While that could end up being a good pick, Fashanu is available in this exercise and is the better pass protector of the two. Also, the Penn State product has more experience on the blind side and received rave reviews in minicamp.
Fashanu wasn’t an option in the actual draft. He was selected by the Jets at 11. Holder decided to have New York skip on the rookie tackle because he is slated to sit for a year behind Tyron Smith. There’s no one for him to sit behind on the Saints so Fashanu is headed to the Big Easy instead of the Big Apple.
But Fashanu and Fuaga have one clear advantage over the other one. The former is a true left tackle. Though it may seem simple, changing sides on the offensive line isn’t easy for everyone. The acclimation period is non existent for Fashanu in that specific aspect.
Fuaga’s advantage is he is used to this scheme because he ran a wide zone system in college. While he’s changing sides, he is still used to these types of run fits. That should ease his transition. The Saints needed an offensive lineman in the draft. Whether it was the real NFL draft or Holder’s re-draft, the mission has been accomplished.
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