PicoBlog

We’re less than a month away from the 2024 NFL Draft and we know the Washington Commanders are going to take a quarterback second overall. We don’t know which one exactly they will take yet, but we know they’re almost certainly going to pick one. So the biggest question besides which quarterback are they taking is what they do after they pick the quarterback. The Commanders have a huge need at left tackle so it’s widely anticipated that Washington will look to draft a left tackle with one of their two second round picks.

The consensus among draft analysts is that this is a very strong group of offensive lineman available in this draft class, which is good for Washington as they have a significant need at left tackle. But it could also result in up to 10 or maybe even more offensive lineman getting drafted in the first round, which means Washington could be left with perhaps the 12th best offensive lineman by the time they pick again. With a rookie quarterback under center, the Commanders may well decide to package some of their extra draft picks together and make a move to jump back up into the first round and try to land one of those better left tackle prospects. 

They’re unlikely to make a huge move to get back into the top 10 for Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt, but trading up into the 15-25 range could position them nicely for a number of offensive tackle prospects. One of those is Washington Huskies left tackle Troy Fautanu. Analysts are split on what position they think Fautanu could play at the next level. He played left tackle in college and plenty think he can stay there in the pros, but some think he might project better on the right side or even sliding inside to guard in the long term. What isn’t debated, however, is his talent level, which is extremely high. 

Fautanu is listed at 6-foot-4, 317 pounds with 34½-inch arms and measured very well at the combine athletically. When you watch him, what immediately pops out is his tenacity, especially in the run game. 

On this play in the National Championship against Michigan, Washington runs a guard and tackle counter scheme, pulling the right guard and right tackle to the left side of the line. For Fautanu at left tackle, this means he has to block down inside on the defensive tackle and then work up to the second level to block the linebacker as the defender looks to scrape to the edge. At the snap you can see Fautanu comes off the ball quickly and is immediately landing a strong punch on the defensive tackle, shoving him inside and positioning him perfectly for the left guard to seal the defender off inside. 

After that shove on the defensive tackle, Fautanu peels off to work up to the second level. The linebacker gets a solid read on the play and looks to scrape to the edge as he follows the pulling guard and tackle in that direction. That means when Fautanu comes off his initially block, the linebacker is already working to the edge instead of sitting inside. Fautanu doesn’t panic though and calmly locates the linebacker and redirects his path towards the defender. As the defender gets outside leverage while Fautanu engages with him, he doesn’t worry about trying to re-establish leverage and get the defender pinned inside. Instead, he lets the defender get outside and uses that against him by driving him further outside and washing him out of the play. You see the nasty streak and tenacity in Fautanu at the end of this play as he drives the linebacker all the way outside the numbers and plays through the whistle, finishing the block emphatically by taking the defender to the ground. 

Fautanu consistently mauls people in the run game and creates a ton of movement up front as a result. Washington, smartly, ran behind him in key situations. 

Here in a bowl game against Texas, Washington faces a fourth and one situation. Those short yardage situations are made for run blockers like Fautanu to show off his strength and create a lane for the back to run through. That’s precisely what happens here. He comes off the snap quickly on what’s known as an angle drive block. He’s very efficient with his movement, not losing a step or wasting a step as he drives towards the defensive tackle inside of him. He uses his momentum and raw strength to drive the defensive tackle backwards and down the line, creating a nice lane for the running back to cut into and pick up the first down. 

Fautanu is truly scheme diverse in the run game. As we’ve just seen, he’s got a ton of power to maul defenders on gap scheme runs but he’s also athletic enough to reach and cut off defenders on zone runs too. That athleticism translates to other parts of his game too. He’s a weapon in the screen game, for example. 

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