Cowboys draft 2024: OT Troy Fautanu scouting report

Here is our scouting report on offensive tackle Troy Fautanu from Washington

We continue our 2024 NFL Draft review of draft prospects that could interest the Dallas Cowboys. Today we are looking at offensive tackle Troy Fautanu from Washington.

Troy Fautanu
OT
Washington Huskies
rJunior
4-star recruit
6’4”
317 lbs
Hands- 9 1/2”
Arm Length- 34 1/2”

History:
Troy Fautanu was a dual-sport athlete in high school playing both football and volleyball. He was awarded a four-star rating by 247 Sports and was ranked the 12th-best guard nationally. He received 19 offers before opting to enroll with Washington and begin playing in 2019.

Fautanu redshirted his first year, then as a freshman in 2020 he played just 35 snaps (11 of those on offense).

In 2021, Fautanu saw an uptick in snaps, playing 201 snaps on offense. He was still playing mostly in rotation on the line for the Huskies, but he did earn three starts. On 101 passing snaps, Fautanu allowed five total pressures and one sack.

In his 2022 season, Fautanu got the starting job at left tackle for Washington. He played in all 13 games, playing a total of 949 snaps. On 608 passing snaps, Fautanu allowed only 15 pressures and stayed clean by allowing zero sacks. He did lead the team, however, in penalties with a total of eight flags.

In 2023, Fautanu continued his role as starting left tackle for Washington. He started in all 15 games, which included the playoffs and National Championship. On 623 passing snaps, he allowed 23 pressures and two sacks. He also got his penalty count down from the previous year to just six.

2023 Statistics:
993 Total snaps
623 Passing snaps
23 Pressures Allowed
2 Sacks Allowed
6 Penalties

NFL Combine/Pro Day:
10-Yard Split- 1.71s (96%)
40-Yard Time- 5.01s (93%)
Vert- 32.5” (94%)
Broad- 113”(94%)

Awards:
Third-team All-American (2023)
First-team All-Pac-12 (2023)
Second-team All-Pac-12 (2022)

Scorecard:
Overall- 92.8/100
Pass Blocking- 88/100
Run Blocking- 74/100
Discipline- 85/100
Speed- 95/100
Strength-93/100
Acceleration- 94/100
Agility- 93/100

THE GOOD:

• Elite levels of athleticism and explosiveness
• Cleans out defenders with ease when on the move and on pulls
• Very powerful punch and solid hands
• For a player of his size, Fautanu displays brilliant agility
• Mirrors better than nearly every linemen in this year’s draft
• His agility and flexibility is seen most with his pad level. At the point of attack his pad height and knee bend is text book
• Played both on the left and right, as well as at guard. Huge versatility as a player
• Measurable testing at the combine proves he has the arm length to play tackle and meets the minimum threshold

THE BAD:

• Inconsistent with his body angle and position. This allows defenders to cross his face easily
• Looks too often to go for the homerun play rather than set the defender up. Seen most often with his punch, as though he’s going for the knockout early in the first round
• Plays hectic on every play. This can cause him to play off-balance
• Run blocking needs more coaching

THE FIT:
Troy Fautanu is one of the safest first-round prospects in this year’s draft. He has a proven track record of high-level play over a two season period and has a good record of health coming out of college. There’s very little in terms of coaching issues to get him up to speed in the NFL, meaning his curve is extremely shallow.

That being said, Fautanu is far from perfect. He does need some work on his run blocking which lacks technique and he needs to settle down on plays. The issues are far from huge and seeing the type of player Fautanu progressed to become in college, it’s safe to say he takes to coaching very well.

There was a lot of talk of Fautanu projecting as a guard in the NFL, and he does look to be a good fit at the position at the next level. But the combine proved he was a fit to play offensive tackle and met all the thresholds. That means he has huge versatility in terms of position flex which will raise his stock. Provided Fautanu isn’t met with any motor setbacks, he should be a starter immediately.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Fautanu had a formal interview with Dallas.

COMPARISON:-
Rashawn Slater, L.A. Chargers

GRADE:
Late first-round grade

CONSENSUS RANKING:
24th
(Consensus ranking based on the average ranking from 90 major scoring services)