Expert Analysis
3/27/24
4 min read
Troy Fautanu 2024 NFL Draft: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Pittsburgh Steelers OT
The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Troy Fautanu.
Troy Fautanu's 2024 NFL Combine Results
- Height: 6'4"
- Weight: 317 pounds
- 40-yard dash: 5.01 seconds
- 10-yard split: 1.71 seconds
- Vertical jump: 33"
- Broad jump: Did Not Participate (DNP)
Troy Fautanu 2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report
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 — 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.
NFL Transition
Fautanu was one of my favorite players to evaluate, and he is without question one of the best offensive line prospects in the 2024 draft class. He has a high-level pass protection combination of athletic movement, lateral quickness and power with active and efficient hand usage. Fautanu is a bit of a contradiction regarding: his body frame: He has excellent length with long arms, yet his build on tape looks more compact and stout.
What consistently stands out watching Fautanu’s tape is that he is a twitched-up, sudden explosive mover with active athletic feet and an understanding of how to use hands to maximize his long arms to maintain separation and control edge pass rushers. One area where he struggled at times was his anchor when rushers were able to get inside of him into his chest with speed to power. That might be one reason why some might project him inside at offensive guard despite his overall length and strong pass-protection skill set at left tackle.
As a run blocker, Fautanu played with strength, power, outstanding balance and body control — in addition to with a competitive demeanor that set the tone for the Washington offense.
Overall, Fautanu is a high-level offensive line prospect who has the traits, skill set and physical mindset to become a starter early in his career at either left tackle or offensive guard. I wouldn't be surprised if he develops into one of the better offensive linemen in the NFL relatively soon; I believe he can play left tackle at a high level in the NFL if allowed to start there and develop with coaching and experience.
Other Notes
Fautanu was a two-year starter at left tackle for Washington with 28 starts in the last two seasons. In 2023, he was a third-team All-American.
What consistently stood out as the 2023 season progressed was that Fautanu had issues in pass protection — he wasn't playing with the same balance and body control as he was earlier in the season.
