On Sunday, Olu Fashanu made his third consecutive start at left tackle for the New York Jets. The 11th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft has now played 221 snaps at his natural position after he began his career with 159 snaps at right tackle followed by 37 at right guard – two positions he had minimal experience with.
As Fashanu racks up snaps at his ideal position, we are starting to get a clearer idea of where he truly stands in his development entering 2025. Fashanu struggled mightily to start the year, but after three-plus games at left tackle in which he has looked significantly better, it’s obvious that his struggles were mostly due to him playing out of position.
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Multiple metrics show that Fashanu has been playing good football at left tackle. Since moving back to the blind side in Week 10, here are some Fashanu’s numbers and his ranks among 32 qualified left tackles over that span:
- 7.0% pressure rate allowed, per NFL Next Gen Stats: 10th
- 69.8 overall grade, per Pro Football Focus: 16th
- 63.3 run-blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus: 15th
Fashanu’s third start at left tackle was arguably his rockiest to date, although it was far from terrible. Overall, it provided a well-rounded look at Fashanu’s strengths and weaknesses at this point of his development.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Fashanu allowed 5 pressures on 42 pass-blocking snaps in Sunday’s loss to Miami, a pressure rate of 11.2%. For perspective, the 2024 NFL average for left tackles is 9.8%. At that rate, the league-average left tackle would be expected to allow 4.1 pressures on 42 pass-blocking snaps, whereas Fashanu allowed 5, so he basically gave up one more pressure than expected. Subpar, but not awful.
PFF rated Fashanu with a run-blocking grade of 56.8, which ranked 18th out of 26 left tackles in Week 14.
Let’s break down some clips from Fashanu’s third NFL start at left tackle.
Pass-blocking: The bad
Fashanu wears No. 74.
All pressures are not identical. As far as pressures go, this is about as harmless as it gets. It takes a decent amount of time for the rusher to get home, Fashanu prevents him from winning the angle to make a clean hit on the QB, and Aaron Rodgers could have stepped up to evade it if needed. However, the rusher did grab a hold of Rodgers as he threw, so this got charted as a pressure. Fashanu could have done a little better to keep his QB completely unaffected.
From Fashanu’s perspective, you like the initial engagement, as he shoots his hands and grabs the rusher’s jersey sleeve with the left hand. However, Fashanu never seems to affirm a grip with his right hand, allowing the rusher some freedom to try and get free. As the rush progresses, the rusher fights Fashanu’s left hand off of him, freeing him up to bend the corner with the rip move. Fashanu is in a good position to create a wall between the QB and the rusher, preventing him from doing any significant damage, but the rip move does allow the rusher to yank at Rodgers as he throws.
Picking up a blitzing DB standing over top of him, Fashanu oversets to the inside, opening an easy lane for the blitzer to sprint through and pressure Rodgers.
Watching Fashanu’s head immediately post-snap, it looks like he is peeking inside for a few beats until he finally turns his attention to No. 20, possibly because he is anticipating that No. 20 will drop and the nearest threat will instead come from inside – either No. 6 coming through the B-gap or No. 92 looping around on a stunt. Fashanu does not turn to No. 20 until he confirms that neither No. 6 or No. 92 is coming his way.
If that were Fashanu’s thought process, it would explain why he overset to the inside. In that case, Fashanu’s mistake would simply be a miscalculation of the blitz scheme, something he could certainly improve upon with more experience.
Fashanu sets hard to the outside, and it comes at the wrong time as Miami is running an ET stunt (end-tackle; i.e. the end crashes inside and the tackle loops outside). Post-snap, the DE gives one step upfield to keep Fashanu honest, then explodes off that step to the inside, plowing through the open B-gap vacated by Fashanu.
This is a tough spot for Fashanu thanks to the DT on the inside, who perfectly executes his role in this stunt. He does a great job of feigning inside before he loops outside for the stunt, which pulls John Simpson away from the B-gap and creates even more space for the crashing DE.
Fashanu does a decent job of recovering and trying to pass this off to Simpson, although Simpson is not in the best position to pick it up and lets the rusher push through. Ultimately, this pressure was allowed almost immediately, as Miami simply had the perfect call for Fashanu’s pass set. The only chance to stop it would be if Fashanu diagnosed it rapidly after the snap so he could hurriedly push off his outside foot to get back inside and beat the rusher to the spot, but you can see that Fashanu is just one step slow to react to the inside rush, and it’s over from there.
Certainly, this play put Fashanu in a difficult spot, but as he faces more plays like this one, he will learn how to diagnose stunts a split-second quicker, which will make all the difference in these situations.
This mistake by Fashanu came at a critical juncture, as his pressure prevented Rodgers from finding a wide-open Garrett Wilson for a huge gain with the score tied and about one minute remaining. Rodgers probably still should have found Wilson (as Andrew Fialkow broke down), but if Fashanu came through with a clean rep here, it is almost certain that Rodgers would have made the play.
Just before the snap, the DE starts shifting inside. This prompts Fashanu to push off his outside foot and shuffle inside, although Fashanu may have been preparing to do this anyway since the entire line slides right. Either way, it turns out to be a great setup by the DE, as he uses Fashanu’s inside momentum against him by throwing a swim move to the outside. The DE clubs Fashanu with his outside arm and then brings his inside arm over the top, winning the corner.
The key to thwarting swim moves is to catch the rusher in the rib cage while he is mid-move. Swim moves look awesome when they work, but they do leave the rusher’s body vulnerable for a lengthy window, leading to some embarrassing losses. As the blocker, you need to read the cues that a swim move is coming and instinctively fire an aggressive punch into the chest while his arm is up. If your hands are late or inaccurate, you will probably get beat, as the swim move is designed to draw forward momentum from the blocker and use it against him.
Fashanu actually does a good job of recognizing this move and throwing a well-timed punch when the window is open. The problem is that Fashanu’s punch is way too wide, particularly with the left hand, so he completely misses. Fashanu essentially punches at air, allowing the rusher to complete his move as intended.
Perhaps Fashanu was anticipating a bull rush or some other move here, which is why he went for a wider punch instead of keeping his hands tight and jabbing at the rib cage. Fortunately, this is another rep he will grow from. He will learn to pick up the hints that a rusher is planning to throw a club-swim move at him, allowing him to respond instinctively with the correct counter.
Only those in the Jets’ building know how this is coached, so Fashanu might not be in the wrong here. However, when forced to choose, linemen are generally expected to pick up the nearest threat to the QB (inside-out). In that case, you would like to see Fashanu recognize this DB creeping toward the line of scrimmage and pick him up, especially since he knows that there isn’t a back staying in to protect. You’d rather leave the DE unblocked than a DB with momentum through the B-gap.
Again, maybe Fashanu executed this as he was told, but it sure looks like he just allowed a free rusher through the B-gap, which can’t happen.
Pass-blocking: The good
Fashanu’s recovery is what stands out on this rep.
The initial engagement is good, as Fashanu covers a wide gap to meet the rusher and initially stands him up. However, Fashanu allows the rusher to rip through with his inside arm, causing Fashanu to start getting pushed back.
From here, Fashanu recovers impressively. Feeling the rusher heavily leaning into him, Fashanu simply drops his back foot and pulls the rusher into the ground, essentially yanking the chair out from underneath him.
While it is not a stunt, this is a similar situation to the earlier play where Fashanu was beat inside. He sets outside, and the rusher tries to win inside. This time, though, Fashanu holds up very well. Great placement with the right hand allows him to affirm control, and he displays impressive lower-body strength as he anchors down.
Elite rep from Fashanu, completely dominating his man throughout a play that lasts 6.76 seconds until the pass is thrown.
Fashanu frames the rusher well and lands a great punch, affirming control of the rusher’s chest with both hands. He keeps his elbows tight to maximize his grip strength. Fashanu maintains his grip throughout the rush and slides his feet as the rusher tries to break free. It isn’t until well over four seconds that the rusher finally breaks free, and he’s already behind Rodgers at that point.
As the play extends, Fashanu still dominates using athleticism and spatial awareness. Seeing that Rodgers has scrambled to the left, Fashanu positions himself between Rodgers and the rusher, smoothly flipping his hips with the rusher as he sticks with him in open space. Fashanu walls him off from affecting the play, completing a masterclass of a rep from the left tackle position. His dominance buys ample time for Garrett Wilson to get open and ample space for Rodgers to slide left and deliver an uncontested throw.
Another clean rep from Fashanu on a long-developing play. Fashanu does a good job of getting hands-on first, establishing a tight grip before the rusher throws the rip move. By the time the rusher’s arm comes upward for the rip, Fashanu is already attached, so he fails to clear Fashanu’s outside arm. Fashanu then slides outside to cut off the rusher’s window to win around the corner.
Locked up by Fashanu with no leverage to throw a move, the rusher tries to just push Fashanu into the pocket, and he does generate some movement, but it takes about four full seconds until he comes anywhere near Rodgers, making this a clear win for Fashanu. Even as he nears the pocket, Fashanu keeps the defender walled off and prevents him from disengaging
Run-blocking: The bad
Ugly technique from Fashanu as he is quickly cooked for the run stuff.
First off, his approach to this block is odd. Fashanu has no help to the inside, as John Simpson needs to help inside on the DT and then climb to the LB. Because of this, it’s not a great spot for Fashanu to take a 45-degree angle toward the DE, as it yields an easy opportunity for the DE to win inside through a wide-open B-gap. In this situation, I would have preferred to see Fashanu climb vertically and then flip his hips toward the sideline to seal the DE away from the play side.
In terms of technique, it’s an ugly rep. Off the snap, Fashanu kicks out his left foot and fires off it to lunge at the DE, taking no time to frame the defender, get his feet underneath him, and make a controlled block. He is unbalanced and out of control, allowing the DE to easily evade him.
On the back side of this zone play, Fashanu tries to get across the DT’s face and seal him to the back side. He looks explosive and quickly gets out in front, but he overruns the block a little bit, allowing the DT to shed him. The DT doesn’t end up affecting this play, but it’s a lost rep nonetheless, as Fashanu allowed the DT to stay active as a potential back side helper if the run were cut back.
While Fashanu lost on this particular rep, you can still see his athletic potential. As we will see in the positive section, Fashanu has shown glimpses of putting his athleticism to good use on zone-blocking plays. He just needs to be more controlled than he was on this play.
Run-blocking: The good
Great example of Fashanu doing a much better job at the same assignment he botched in the previous clip. He is explosive out of his stance, quickly crosses the DT’s face, and smoothly flips his hips, but this time, he does not overrun the block. Fashanu stabs the DT’s chest with his left hand, flips his hips toward him, and pins him to the back side.
You would like to see Fashanu stick with the block a little longer, as he seems to let up a bit and allow the DT to shed him. Nonetheless, he executes his initial assignment beautifully.
On the front side this time, Fashanu does a good job of sliding his feet and maintaining front-side leverage to prevent the DT from crossing his face and getting out in front to make a play.
Once again, I think it is fair to say that Fashanu could have maintained this block a little bit longer. He eventually lets the DT get across his face, and Fashanu lets up pretty quickly after that. Staying with the play is something I would like to see Fashanu improve in the run game. Still, it is another play where Fashanu used his athleticism to properly execute his initial assignment.
Fashanu creates phenomenal movement on the double team with John Simpson, pushing the DT multiple yards downfield while also influencing him to the inside to help Simpson seal him out of the play. Fashanu then peels off the double team and climbs to pick up the LB, kicking him out of the intended hole.
The LB eventually peels off Fashanu and gets in on the stop, but that’s not Fashanu’s fault, as Fashanu sealed the LB to the outside as he was supposed to. If Tyler Conklin did not get scorched on the back side, Isaiah Davis would have had the room to press the line of scrimmage and get downfield behind Fashanu, but the back side pressure forced Davis to bounce it to the edge.
Still, it’s a 7-yard gain for Davis, and Fashanu’s double team helped spring it. Without the significant displacement by Fashanu, Davis would have been bottled up around the line of scrimmage.
It is encouraging to see Fashanu shine on plays like this one. Coming out of college, his power in the run game was viewed as a weakness. So far in the NFL, Fashanu has displayed flashes of much-improved strength as a run blocker.
Takeaways
Fashanu’s trip to Miami was a mixed bag, but many of his mistakes were fixable. He did not lose reps because he looked physically overwhelmed by NFL competition. Rather, he just needs more experience to develop good habits at the professional level.
Going forward, Fashanu’s positive reps in Miami carry more weight than his negative ones. He put some high-level reps on tape in both phases, flashing the ability to do things that not every tackle can do. Clearly, the potential is there. Now, it’s just about establishing consistency. And with his mistakes largely being fixable rather than the result of physical deficiencies, he is in a great position to become more and more consistent as he stockpiles reps.
It is worth noting that Fashanu has faced fairly light competition over his four-game stint at left tackle. The Cardinals, Colts, Seahawks, and Dolphins do not have a single edge rusher who currently ranks top-25 at the position in total pressures (per PFF). That will change on Sunday when the Jets head down to Jacksonville.
Fashanu is set to face his stiffest challenge yet. The 22-year-old will be tasked with blocking Josh Hines-Allen, one of the NFL’s most disruptive pass rushers. Hines-Allen ranks 11th among edge rushers with 51 total pressures. All 51 of those pressures came off the right side of the defensive line (across from the LT), ranking as the third-most among edge rushers. He is also tied for third with eight sacks off the right side.
If Fashanu can continue displaying promise against a rusher of Hines-Allen’s caliber, Jets fans will have every right to begin feeling extremely confident about his future. But even if he struggles, Fashanu will learn valuable lessons that he can take with him into his first professional offseason, preparing him to take a leap in his sophomore campaign. As long as Fashanu continues to display exciting physical traits while primarily struggling in areas that are fixable, he will be in an excellent spot going into 2025.
