The Pittsburgh Steelers are rolling through the 2024 offseason. With free agency greatly affecting roster construction, it will be followed by the NFL draft in April. For the Steelers, the events since the beginning of the league year have changed their draft needs multiple times. With player pro days coming to a conclusion, team’s big boards will enter the last stages of finalization before the draft.

When talking about mock drafts or NFL free agency, one first has to first identify the team’s main needs for the offseason. Before any gains or losses in free agency, there are some who wanted to see the Steelers go with either offensive line or defensive line with their first-round pick. Others feel wide receiver or cornerback now could be on top of the list. With the opportunity for the Steelers to shape their roster prior to the draft, their goal is usually to get into position to draft the best player available rather than target a specific position. When it comes to what position the team will select with their first pick, it is certainly up for debate.

In the latest one-round mock draft by espnsouthwestlouisiana.com (in order to find new players to cover, it sometimes takes looking at some lesser-profile mocks as bigger ones taking the same players are behind paywalls), they have the Steelers addressing the left tackle position once again before anything else. The Steelers should still be looking for quality players on the offensive line, so whether a tackle plays the left or right side should not eliminate them from their draftboard. Since the Steelers could go in any number of directions with their first selection, it is important to look at all the possibilities presented by various mock draft outlets.

Check out the Steelers 20th pick:

20. Pittsburgh Steelers | Olumuyiwa Fashanu | OT | Penn State | JR |

Even as the draft process rolls on, there may be some players most fans are not familiar with. If this is the case, here is a breakdown of Fashanu according to thedraftnetwork.com:

Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State 

Size:

• Height: 6’6”
• Weight: 312 pounds
• Arm Length: 34”
• Hand Size: 8 1/2″

Accomplishments:

• Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year (2023)
• First Team All-Big-Ten (2023)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2023)

Strengths:

• Prototypical size (height/length/wingspan)   
• Lateral agility to mirror pass rushers
• Strength in his lower half to anchor in pass protection
• Range to cover ground in the run game and screens 
• High motor

Concerns:

• Occasionally plays with high pad level 
• Limited movement at the line of scrimmage in the run game 
• Will occasionally overset in pass protection 

Film Analysis:

Olu Fashanu is a left tackle prospect who checks all of the height-weight-length boxes. He has great body mass and is well-proportioned, which has aided him in being an exceptional athlete at the tackle position. This athleticism aids Fashanu in both pass protection and as a run blocker, as he can execute a wide variety of blocks. 

In pass protection, Fashanu plays light on his feet and appears with ease to get great depth on his pass sets, often meeting or beating the defender to the apex point. This allows Fashanu to set up and begin to engage the defender by throwing punches and hand counters. Fashnu has good strength in his hands which is evident by how he can impact and slow defenders in their pass rush with his punches. Fashanu has also shown the lateral agility to react to defenders’ counter moves and retrace his steps to close the distance. Fashanu has a mixed bag of moves and can overwhelm defenders at times if he chooses to quickly set them and squeeze the rush by quickly getting on top of them and utilizing his mass and length in an attempt to win quickly. The strength of Fashanu is evident by his ability to anchor against pass rushers who opt to convert speed to power. He can anchor, preventing them from getting to the quarterback. 

As a run blocker, Fashanu showcases best when he can use his athleticism to execute reach blocks, working to the second level, and as a puller to get into space with the body control to locate defenders. Fashanu does a plus-level job of making contact with defenders and using his size to force defenders to have to work around him. 

While Fashanu has many high-level traits, there are detailed elements of his game that can use improvement. Fashanu occasionally plays with a high pad level which negatively impacts him in pass protection, allowing defenders to get leverage on him and drive him backward. It also impacts how well he can recover and retrace his steps to react to defenders’ inside-counter moves. Lastly, the pad-level issue shows in the run game. The high pad level occasionally prevents Fashanu from getting great leverage on a defender and being able to latch on and drive them back off the football. This reduces the power that he can generate and impacts his strength at the point of contact. 

Prospect Projection: Day 1 — Rare, All-Pro

For all you who are preparing yourself for the draft, what do you think of the selection? Would you be on board with the Steelers taking Olu Fashanu with their first pick? Or do you feel there is a better player at this position, a different one who may still be available, or that Fashanu will not make it to the 20th pick? Personally, if the Steelers had the opportunity to draft a player like Fashanu at pick 20, they shouldn’t hesitate. While I would be utterly shocked if he was still there, you don’t pass up a player that would have been the top tackle in last year‘s class had he come out early. Is it ideal to keep Broderick Jones at right tackle and draft another left tackle the next year? Probably not. But if the Steelers have the opportunity to add Fashanu to their roster they’d be foolish to let it pass by.