Tag: troy fautanu

Bengals meet with a potential top Round 1 target ahead of 2024 NFL draft

The Bengals meet with a huge name before the draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals have met with one of the top offensive tackles in the 2024 draft class.

According to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, the Bengals hosted Washington’s Troy Fautanu on a visit before the draft.

While much of the pre-draft process is just due diligence, this one feels like an obvious signal for the Bengals.

Fautanu, even in a deep class for the position, stands out as a logical choice in the first round after Cincinnati lost right tackle Jonah Williams and only added Trent Brown in free agency.

Fautanu to the Bengals isn’t a brand new thought, either. He’s the favorite tackle of Bengals great Anthony Munoz and the often appears as the choice for the team in mock drafts.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Greg’s favorite players in the 2024 NFL draft

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell,” Greg details the attributes of his some of his favorite prospects in the 2024 NFL draft class.

With just a few weeks until the 2024 NFL draft gets underway on April 25, it’s time to get a bit in the weeks with our prospect evaluation processes. So it is in “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” with Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of USA Today Sports Media Group and Touchdown Wire) discussing some of Greg’s favorite prospects in this year’s draft class.

  • Trey Benson, RB, Florida State
  • Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, Purdue
  • Anthony Gould, WR, Oregon State
  • Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
  • Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
  • Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
  • Byron Murphy II, DL, Texas
  • Cole Bishop, Safety, Utah

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

2024 NFL Draft: Washington OT Troy Fautanu scouting report

Washington left tackle Troy Fautanu might be better-suited as an NFL guard, but regardless, he’s got the playing personality to succeed.

The 2023 Washington Huskies had one of the most explosive offenses in the NCAA, both run and pass, and while most of the credit goes to the skill position players, you’re not going to get a lot of those big plays happening if the guys up front aren’t doing their jobs.

So, it’s time to take a closer look at Washington left tackle Troy Fautanu, who should be a first-round pick on April 25, and might reach that status at either tackle or guard.

Why guard? Well, it comes up in Fautanu’s case because his height of 6′ 3¾” is third-percentile for the tackle position, and while his wingspan and arm length are more in the box for the position, that will have some NFL personnel people wondering. And Fautanu’s seek-and-destroy playing personality may add to it.

No matter where he plays in the NFL, Fautanu’s pass protection — he allowed two sacks and 23 total pressures last season on 623 pass-blocking snaps for the ultimate deep passing game — will hold up, and his run-blocking is just fun to watch.

PLUSES

– Brings a nasty mentality to the position; he’s technically sound, but he really wants to kick your ass and dominate the rep. More pancakes than an IHOP on Sunday morning. 

– Quick, nimble feet off the snap allow him to set his body to the rusher and to adjust against stunts and games. 

– Hand use is versatile and violent; he had a rep against Texas where he just slapped two pass-rushers down on an E/T stunt – Ethan Burke and T’Vondre Sweat. Those guys couldn’t keep their hands up. 

– Great blocker on screens and other second-level plays; he squares up quickly and accurately, and he’s looking to demolish in the open field. 

– Has no issue extending blocks for a longer period of time because he’ll latch on and mirror well. That’s pretty important when your quarterback has 117 attempts of 20 or more air yards in a single season.

– Agile enough to cross a defender’s face and seal the edge in the run game. 

MINUSES

– Can be beaten by inside counters once he’s set in his stance. 

– Smaller hands (9 ½ inches; 13th percentile for the position) show up when he’s trying to maintain protection around the arc or to either side of his body; he’ll allow some leakage there. 

– Could stand to be a bit more exact when firing out; he’s better in enclosed space than when he’s forced to react to quicker pass-rushers. Sometimes, he’ll just whiff when he’s too aggressive. 

– Will get run over from time to time when he’s too upright off the snap. 

I can see the sense in perhaps making Fautanu a guard at the next level, but if he wants to play tackle, he’s got the attributes to do it, especially in a power-based offense with multiple blocking schemes in the run game.

Based on my personal preferences, I’d try to kick him inside, because I think he could be an All-Pro move guard, as opposed to a pretty good-to-really good tackle. It will be interesting to see how that process takes place with Fautanu’s NFL team. 

Is left tackle or right tackle a bigger need for Saints in 2024 draft?

Is left tackle or right tackle a bigger need for the Saints in the 2024 draft? Which position should the Saints address first?

The 2024 NFL draft is less than a month away, and the New Orleans Saints have more problems to address than draft picks to spend on them. And their top priority has to be getting the tackle spots right. Which leads us to the big question: which tackle spot is in worse shape?

Conventional wisdom would suggest the left tackle spot is a top priority; every team wants to protect their quarterback’s blind side, and the right-handed Derek Carr needs to know he can step up in the pocket with confidence. Last year, the Saints struggled to get rely on Trevor Penning before benching him after six games. Andrus Peat moved back to his college position after nearly a decade at left guard, and he did well enough, but the team hasn’t expressed much interest in re-signing him now that he’s a free agent.

So they’re effectively jumping out of the plane without a parachute if Penning is the only option. What about the right side? When he signed a contract extension a few years ago, Ryan Ramczyk was as reliable as any right tackle in the NFL could to be. He rarely missed games and was at fault for sacks or penalties even less frequently. But a degenerative knee condition has proven tough to manage, and now everything is on the table. He could miss the entire 2023 season or be pushed into a medical retirement altogether. It’s a serious situation.

The saving grace: the Saints got serviceable play out of Ramczyk’s backups. Landon Young wasn’t a liability in a couple of starts before going down with his own injury. Cameron Erving closed out the season in relief duty, but like Peat he hasn’t been a priority to re-sign after hitting free agency. The Saints clearly have plans for addressing both positions, left and right, but we aren’t privy to them.

Which sets up the 2024 draft as, maybe, their big hope. Or their big gamble. By all accounts, it’s a very deep draft class along the offensive line. There are players with starting-quality grades projected to be picked in the second round. If the Saints are planning to draft an offensive tackle in the first frame at No. 14 overall, they’ll have plenty of options.

Left tackles like Olu Fashanu (Penn State) and Troy Fautanu (Washington) have been popular picks in mock drafts for New Orleans. So are right tackles including Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State) and JC Latham (Alabama), or inexperienced options like Amarius Mims (Georgia) and Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma). We shouldn’t overlook sleepers like left tackle Graham Barton (Duke), who also played center in college. Any of them, and likely several of them, might be in play in the first round when the Saints go on the clock.

Before news of Ramczyk’s too-slow recovery came out, a left tackle seemed most likely. The Saints could either kick off a training camp competition with Penning for that job or move one of the two inside to guard (pushing James Hurst down into the sixth man role, where he’s probably at his best). But now that there’s a real possibility Ramczyk will be unavailable this year, if not longer, the void at right tackle becomes too big to ignore.

There’s still a chance that things click for Penning with a new coaching staff and he makes the necessary growth and adjustments to develop into a starting-quality left tackle. Where you’d put those chances is on you. The Saints might view it as a bad right tackle being easier to work around than a bad left tackle — Carr can see the pressure coming his way and adjust to it accordingly, at least in theory.

The Saints could pick offensive tackles with each of their first two picks and few fans would have much right to complain; sure, there are other fires to put out, but none so dire as this. If the Saints can get a surefire starter in the first round (say, one of those pro-ready right tackles) and add a player who can at least push Penning in the second round (someone like BYU swing tackle Kingsley Suamataia, Houston left tackle Patrick Paul, or Arizona left tackle Jordan Morgan) then it just might work.

At the end of the day, the offense will go as far as the big men up front can lead them. It’s no understatement to say the season hinges on nailing these draft picks, keeping Carr upright, and paving the way for a better running game than the Saints have fielded in recent years.

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Report: Rams met with Washington OT Troy Fautanu before pro day

The Rams met privately with Troy Fautanu before Washington’s pro day, showing interest in the stud left tackle

Even after tendering Alaric Jackson as a restricted free agent, the Los Angeles Rams could still be in the market for another offensive tackle in the NFL draft this year. It could even be a position they target in the first round, knowing how important it is to find a long-term left tackle.

Troy Fautanu out of Washington is one option for the Rams if he slips in the first round. He was a full-time starter at left tackle for the Huskies and one of the best pass blockers in the class, allowing only three sacks and 35 total pressures in the last three seasons combined.

According to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report, the Rams met privately with Fautanu before his pro day on Thursday.

Fautanu is projected to be a top-15 pick, potentially even a top-10 guy. There’s a chance he’ll slip to No. 19, especially if six quarterbacks go in the first 20 picks, and this is a strong class for left tackles so other teams might prefer other prospects over him.

Whether it’s in a trade up or by standing pat at No. 19, the Rams have to consider the possibility of taking Fautanu in Round 1.

Did Steelers HC Mike Tomlin tip his hand about Pittsburgh’s NFL draft plan?

The Steelers have never been very secretive about their draft plans so this slip shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

The Pittsburgh Steelers needs for the 2024 NFL draft become more and more clear after the first wave of free agency. After releasing center Mason Cole and trading away wide receiver Diontae Johnson, these are the team’s two top needs. As a third option, offensive tackle and upgrading one starting spot makes sense as well.

But when head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media from the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando, he might have tipped his hand about the direction Pittsburgh will go in the first round. Tomlin noted that there are only a few centers in the upcoming draft that are plug-and-play.

If the Steelers are targeting a center early, there are really four players they should be looking at closely. We’ve talked at length about Washington’s Troy Fautanu, Duke’s Graham Barton, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier. These are the four guys who could come in and start in Week One and there’s a real chance one of them is the Steelers first-round pick.

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ESPN’s mini mock draft has the Saints addressing a top team need

ESPN’s mini mock draft has the New Orleans Saints addressing a top team need with versatile Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu:

The 2024 NFL draft is fast approaching, and mock drafts are coming out left and right. It’s important to take these with a grain of salt, but they can be useful to see who could be joining the Saints. With that being said Field Yates of ESPN has the Saints taking Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu.

Fautanu played 1,005 snaps at left tackle this past season for Washington. In those snaps, he only allowed two sacks. Due to his size, some analysts feel he would be better suited as a guard in the next level, but his success at tackle warrants a look at both spots. He weighed in at 6-foot-3 and 317 pounds with 34 and 1/2-inch arms at the NFL Scouting Combine which is right at the threshold where teams separate tackles from guards.

Here’s why Yates said the Saints should take the Washington product:

“The Saints have been quiet in free agency and guard Andrus Peat is now a free agent. New Orleans restructured longtime right tackle Ryan Ramczyk’s deal, and he said in December he was uncertain of his NFL future. Furthermore, the team has to make a decision about 2022 first-rounder Trevor Penning, who has really struggled and might be due for a position switch to guard — or at the very least have to compete for a starting left tackle gig. Considering all of that, Fautanu’s value and versatility is too good to pass up. He was a college left tackle, and despite some talk of him projecting better inside at guard, I believe he has the goods to stay on the outside in the pros. No matter where he plays, he’s just a flatout baller and would make an immediate impact blocking for quarterback Derek Carr.”

Fans may find it boring to select an offensive lineman, but the Saints have glaring holes at the position. This past season, the Saints allowed an exuberant amount of pressure on quarterback Derek Carr. They also struggled to create room to run, and their rushing attack suffered because of it.

Drafting Fautanu would likely give them a plug-and-play starter on Day 1. Football starts with the trenches, and you shouldn’t be surprised if that’s the direction the Saints go.

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Jets land Washington OT Troy Fautanu in latest Draft Wire mock

Draft Wire’s latest mock draft sees one of Michael Penix’s key blockers coming to New York.

Our friends over at Draft Wire released their latest mock draft right before free agency and while the Jets do go offensive tackle, as is becoming expected, it’s a different name than the ones we’ve become used to in mocks.

This time around, it’s Troy Fautanu of Washington who is the selection at No. 10 for the Jets. This was another case where the Jets had their pick of the litter outside of Joe Alt, who went No. 7 to the Tennessee Titans.

Fautanu brings power, strength and athletic ability to the league. He was a key cog in helping Michael Penix Jr. throw for almost 5,000 yards, be a Heisman Trophy finalist and lead the Huskies to a spot in the National Championship Game.

The Jets will have three new starters along the offensive line compared to last season — Duane Brown and Mekhi Becton are both free agents, Laken Tomlinson was released — so there’s a good chance one of those starters comes via the No. 10 overall pick.

For the record, for those wondering if they could pass up Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, he was long gone in this mock, going No. 5 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: What does the scouting combine really mean?

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into what the scouting combine really means for NFL teams and top draft prospects.

Once the scouting combine is over every year — and this year’s version concluded last week — NFL scouts, coaches and personnel executives are left with reams of new information to deal with, and to add to their previous evaluations.

So, what does that really mean? And what can a great combine performance really do for a draft prospect? For example, Texas receiver Xavier Worthy broke the combine record with a 4.1-second 40-yard dash. If he already plays extremely fast on the field, what does that add to his evaluation? Or if a player like Washington left tackle Troy Fautanu aces all his drills and crushes it in the meeting rooms with NFL teams, how does he really come out the other side in the minds of the people who are set to select him in the 2024 NFL draft?

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into what the scouting combine really means, their individual experiences at this year’s event, and how drill work really matches up to game tape and NFL transitions for multiple top prospects.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

7 realistic options for the Seahawks in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL draft

Who should they pick, then?

The Seahawks are clearly thinking of drafting a quarterback this year. At the Scouting Combine they met with several high-end prospects, including JJ McCarthy from Michigan and Heisman-winner Jayden Daniels from LSU. Odds are neither one of them are going to be available when it comes to be Seattle’s turn to pick in the first round of the draft, though.

Let’s see if we can zero in on some more realistic targets. To do that, let’s begin by eliminating the guys who are most-likely to be unavailable. Here are the 15 players we expect to be off the board when the Seahawks are on the clock at No. 16 overall.

  • USC QB Caleb Williams
  • LSU QB Jayden Daniels
  • North Carolina QB Drake Maye
  • Michigan QB JJ McCarthy
  • Oregon QB Bo Nix
  • Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
  • Washington WR Rome Odunze
  • LSU WR Malik Nabers
  • Notre Dame OT Joe Alt
  • Penn State OT Olu Fashanu
  • Georgia TE Brock Bowers
  • Alabama CB Terrion Arnold
  • Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell
  • Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner
  • Texas DT Byron Murphy II

There are also a few positions which the Seahawks should probably be ignoring in the first round, regardless of how promising any one prospect might look. That includes wide receiver and cornerback, two positions where they are loaded and also used first-round picks on last year. They should also pass on guards in Round 1, even though that is arguably their biggest roster need right now. Unless they can take over at one of the tackle spots some day Seattle should hold off picking a guard until Day 2.

Other positions to ignore in the first round based on their relative value are linebacker, safety and tight end.

Who should they pick, then?

Our best hope is that they’ll use their first round pick on either the best lineman available or on the quarterback who’s best suited to run their offense. With those things in mind, here are the seven most realistic prospects to be taken by the Seahawks at No. 16.