"Fautanu was one of my favorite players to evaluate, and he is without question one of the best OL prospects in the 2024 draft class."
Scouting report on Washington's Troy Fautanu, from @gregcosell โ๏ธ
STRENGTHS:
- Has a comfortable pass set with light, quick feet and good balance with a firm base and hands in ready-strike position.
- Consistently plays with active, efficient hand usage in pass protection with a natural ability to reset his hands.
- Has refined hand placement and re-adjustment through pass protection reps. Stays balanced with body control.
- Effective with multiple hand techniques in pass protection. Strikes and chops and resets to control rushers.
- Shows accelerated vision and quick, fluid, lateral movement recognizing and reacting to stunts and pressures.
- Plays with good body position with stable core and balance. Has light, agile feet with clean lateral movement.
- Consistently shows lower-body flexibility and explosiveness. Has higher-level athleticism and balance.
- Comes off the ball low with good leverage and strength as a run blocker. Generates power with initial strikes.
- Features as puller across formation in gap scheme run game. Shows excellent mobility and balance to strike.
- Outstanding playing personality. Has high-level competitiveness, which is evident in pass protection hunting up rushers.
WEAKNESSES:
- Is more stout and compact in his build than long and rangy โ has the build and frame of an offensive guard more than an offensive tackle.
- Struggles at times to anchor off his hand strikes vs. speed-to-power rushers. Doesn't dig in with a strong base.
- Consistently shows tendency to hop backward rather than anchor, post up, lock out and stop his feet.
- There were some pass protection snaps vs. better edge rushers where he was stressed, resulting in bending and leaning.
- As 2023 season progressed, there were pass protection snaps where his pass set looked much more labored.
- Had issues in the quick set in pass protection with pass rushers beating him with lateral quickness and burst.
BOTTOM LINE:
"Fautanu is a high-level OL prospect who has the traits, skill set and physical mindset to become a starter early in his career at either LT or OG. I wouldn't be surprised if he develops into one of the better OL in the NFL relatively soon; I believe he can play LT at a high level in the NFL if allowed to start there and develop with coaching and experience."