Troy Fautanu is turning into a popular name on the workout circuit. The Washington offensive tackle will travel to Jacksonville tomorrow to take a top-30 visit with the Jaguars, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.
[RELATED: Bengals Host Washington OT Troy Fautanu]
In addition to his previously reported visit with the Bengals, the projected first-round pick has also met with the Ravens. Fautanu is expected to take future top-30 visits with the Steelers and Eagles.
Fautanu spent the past two seasons as a full-time starter at Washington, including a 2023 campaign where he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors while blocking for Michael Penix Jr.. That performance helped put the lineman in the first-round conversation for the 2024 draft. Fautanu has generally been lauded for his speed and athleticism, and the six-foot-four, 317-pound lineman certainly has the physical attributes to compete as an NFL offensive tackle.
Notre Dame’s Joe Alt is still expected to be the first lineman off the board. Fautanu will likely be competing with the likes of Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga, Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu, and Alabama’s JC Latham to be the second OT selected.
Considering the league-wide need for offensive tackle depth, it’s not a surprise that the Washington product is generating plenty of interest from NFL teams. Besides the Ravens, all of the teams connected to Fautanu are currently picking in the teens or earlier 20s. While the prospect may be hard pressed to crack the top-10, he’ll likely hear his name called during the first night of the draft.
He should be getting noticed. Would not be surprised to see him go 16 to Seahawks.
I really like Fautanu’s tape. His tenacity is laudable, and he has great measurables. While we’ve been talking about the quarterbacks, the depth at other positions has been quietly very good. It’s not just Alt or bust at tackle-some team will probably be very happy with Fautanu, if pre draft evaluation is any indicator this time around.
The similarly lettered Fuaga is also a great player, who is even more tenacious, and more violent, than Fautanu. Fatuanu is a bit short, but I think that his technique is more solid than his cross-state rival. Having Latham and Fashanu in the background of this discussion just highlights how numerous the linemen are in this draft. Perhaps there is a correkation-even causation, between how deep the quarterbacks are with hiw deep their protectors are, too?