Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images Fashanu is a popular mock draft pick for the Saints at 14. The New Orleans Saints should be looking to add some help on the edges of their offensive line with their first pick in this year’s NFL Draft. Unless one of the top prospects start sliding down the board, there’s no reason their pick at 14 shouldn’t be an offensive tackle. Joe Alt is basically guaranteed to be gone by the time the Saints are on the clock but depending on how the early stages of the draft go, they could have their pick of the litter between the rest of the OT’s. One of the guys the Saints will undoubtedly take a long look at is Olu Fashanu from Penn State. The 6-foot-6, 319-pound tackle is a popular pick for the second-best tackle in this draft class, and it’s very easy to understand why when you look at his tape and numbers. Fashanu has been the anchor of the Penn State offensive line for two seasons now. Over those two seasons, he’s played 1,264 snaps, 681 of which were in pass protection, allowing a total of 17 pressures and zero sacks. Yep, not one. This past season, Fashanu started all 12 regular games for the Nittany Lions, and in 11 of them, he posted a pass blocking grade of 79.5+ (six at 85+). He gave up 10 pressures this season with six of them coming in one game. That means over an 11-game span, he gave up a total of four pressures. One of Fashanu’s negatives as a prospect coming into this season was his run blocking abilities. He’s much better in pass protection than in run blocking, and that was proven by his 59.4 run block grade in 2023. However, he took a major step in his development and became much better, still not great, but better in the run game. In the first three games of the season, Fashanu earned a 53.6, 62.6 and 49.5 grade in run blocking, but in their final nine games, his grade dipped below 63 just two more times as he ended the season with a 70.5 grade in run blocking. Don’t take PFF grades to heart because they don’t tell the whole story, but it does give you a good idea on just how much he improved. There’s a reason Fashanu is projected to be a top-15 pick in this year’s draft (probably would be top-10, but with so many QB’s and WR’s projected to go early, he’ll slide a bit further). He’s got the size, strength and athleticism to be an elite level starter in the NFL one day. Fashanu would fill the Saints biggest need and provide them with someone who could play in year one if needed. With Ryan Ramcyzk’s future in doubt and Trevor Penning seemingly not developing quick enough, the Saints need to go OT, and if Fashanu is still there at 14, I think he should be the pick. Source: https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/2 ... anu-saints
