For a few weeks now, rookie tackle Olu Fashanu has made waves in the New York sports media landscape. The 22-year-old is consistently pegged as one of the New York Jets’ primary silver linings in a lost season.
While most Jets fans are well aware of No. 74’s encouraging play in recent games, I’m not sure everyone knows the extent to which Fashanu has been shining. In some ways, he is already playing like one of the best blindside protectors in the sport.
The numbers are staggering. Since moving back to his natural left tackle position in Week 10, Fashanu has allowed just 10 total pressures on 179 pass-blocking snaps, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. This equates to a pressure rate of 5.6%, the fourth-best mark among left tackles since Week 10 (min. 150 pass-blocking snaps).
NFL Next Gen Stats: Lowest pressure rate allowed at left tackle (min. 150 pass-blocking snaps), Weeks 10-15:
- Walker Little, Jaguars (3.7%) – 7 pressures on 187 pass-blocking snaps
- Garett Bolles, Broncos (3.8%) – 7 on 186
- Laremy Tunsil, Texans (4.4%) – 8 on 183
- Olu Fashanu, Jets (5.6%) – 10 on 179
- Taliese Fuaga, Saints (5.6%) – 9 on 161
- Rashawn Slater, Chargers (6.7%) – 14 on 209
- Brandon Coleman, Commanders (6.9%) – 14 on 202
- Paris Johnson Jr., Cardinals (7.6%) – 15 on 198
- Dion Dawkins, Bills (7.7%) – 14 on 183
- Braxton Jones, Bears (8.2%) – 14 on 171
Over the course of the entire season, Fashanu’s 5.6% pressure rate at left tackle ranks fifth-best at the position, trailing Terron Armstead (5.2%), Walker Little (5.1%), Garett Bolles (4.7%), and Tristan Wirfs (4.6%). Three of those four players have been named to an All-Pro team.
The scary thing for the rest of the AFC East is how rapidly Fashanu is ascending. His most recent game against the Jacksonville Jaguars was not only his best of the year, but it has a case to be the best pass-blocking performance by any NFL left tackle in the 2024 season.
In Jacksonville, not only did Fashanu allow zero pressures on 36 pass-blocking snaps – making it just the 19th shutout of the 2024 NFL season by a left tackle on 30+ pass-blocking snaps – but he did it in a game where Aaron Rodgers was standing in the pocket for eons. The average dropback time of Fashanu’s pass-blocking snaps was 3.47 seconds, the longest time of those 19 left tackle shutouts (min. 30 pass-blocking snaps).
It’s the second time in three weeks that Fashanu pitched a shutout while averaging at least 3.0 seconds per dropback. Fashanu is one of just four left tackles to have two shutouts of 30+ pass-blocking snaps while averaging 3.0+ seconds per dropback, joining Laremy Tunsil, Jordan Mailata, and Dion Dawkins.
NFL Next Gen Stats: Longest average dropback time in a game allowing 0 pressures at left tackle (min. 30 pass-blocking snaps), 2024 season through Week 15:
- Olu Fashanu, Jets (3.47): Week 15 at Jaguars
- Laremy Tunsil, Texans (3.45): Week 15 vs. Dolphins
- Dion Dawkins, Bills (3.37): Week 15 at Lions
- Jordan Mailata, Eagles (3.36): Week 2 vs. Falcons
- Jordan Mailata, Eagles (3.36): Week 15 vs. Steelers
- Dion Dawkins, Bills (3.26): Week 1 vs. Cardinals
- Laremy Tunsil, Texans (3.25): Week 12 vs. Texans
- Trent Williams, 49ers (3.18): Week 1 vs. Jets
- Garett Bolles, Broncos (3.15): Week 8 vs. Panthers
- Rasheed Walker, Packers (3.15): Week 9 vs. Lions
- Olu Fashanu, Jets (3.00): Week 13 vs. Seahawks
That list features some darn elite company for the 22-year-old.
Further adding to the excellence of Fashanu’s performance in Jacksonville was the quality of competition he faced. The Jaguars boast two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen, who entered Week 15 tied for sixth among edge rushers with 53 total pressures (per NGS) and lines up almost exclusively on the right side of the defensive line (vs. the LT). On Sunday, Hines-Allen played all 30 of his pass-rush snaps on Fashanu’s side, and he finished the game with zero pressures – his first zero-pressure outing of the 2024 season.
It is not an exaggeration to claim that a better pass-blocking performance at left tackle has not occurred this season. Fashanu silenced an elite opponent in a game where his team consistently ran long-developing plays instead of getting the ball out quickly. An individual offensive lineman can hardly be more impactful than Fashanu was in northeastern Florida last Sunday.
As for the run game, Fashanu has not been quite as sublime, but his trajectory is promising. According to Pro Football Focus, Fashanu has earned a run-blocking grade of 63.1 at left tackle, which ranks 15th out of 30 qualified left tackles since Week 10. For a prospect whose run-blocking was considered his most significant concern coming out of college, already being league-average in that phase is a huge success, especially when coupled with his elite production in pass protection.
It is staggering how quickly Fashanu is progressing at left tackle. He looked raw over his first few NFL appearances, raising concerns about where he stood in his development, but now that we’ve seen him back at his natural position for five games, it’s obvious that his early-season woes were simply due to him playing out of position at right tackle and right guard. Fashanu has been an instant success at left tackle.
Taking into account how well he is already playing, it is startling to think about how high Fashanu’s ceiling could go as he develops over the coming years.
