The Jets viewed first-round pick Olu Fashanu ideally as a young player who wouldn’t be required to play much as a rookie, the kind of luxury in which you break the glass only in case of an emergency.
Emergencies often arise over the course of an NFL season, however, and Fashanu will make his first start at right tackle in place of injured veteran Morgan Moses in Sunday’s game against the Broncos.
Fashanu, the 11th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Penn State, played 14 offensive snaps after Moses suffered a knee injury in the third quarter of last Thursday night’s win over the Patriots.
“Obviously, it sucks for someone like Morgan to go down, someone that means so much to this team, the offense, and the O-line room,” Fashanu said before Wednesday’s practice in Florham Park. “But everyone has to have that ‘next man up’ mentality, and for me it’s all about going out there and doing my job to the best of my ability.”
Coach Robert Saleh said that the 33-year-old Moses — who was acquired in a trade with the Ravens during the offseason — will miss “a couple of games” with a sprained MCL and bone bruise in his knee, “but it’s obviously not enough to put him on IR.”
After also signing eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith in the offseason, the Jets had other needs they could have filled in the draft, but Saleh believes this situation reinforces why they selected Fashanu.
“I think outside the building, obviously there’s a lot of that noise, but I think [general manager] Joe [Douglas] and his staff and us, it was going to be an O-lineman and when Olu fell, it was a very easy decision,” Saleh said. “He’s been getting a lot of reps. We got him a lot of reps in the second half of camp at right [tackle]. Obviously he got more comfortable as the camp went on. So we’ve got a lot of faith in Olu to go out and execute.”
Fashanu, a consensus All-American left tackle last season for the Nittany Lions, admitted it was “definitely a little tough” accepting a reserve role at the start of the season.
But he believes the two veterans ahead of him on the Jets depth chart have helped him prepare for his initial starting assignment.
“The mentality of every rookie is to step in and play, but for me, I think I’m in a very unique situation,” Fashanu said. “I’m in an offensive line room with not only one but two great tackles. For me it was all about getting the most out of them and picking their brains and asking them as many questions as possible.
“I worked at it a lot during OTAs and camp, and I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot right now.”
While the rookie acknowledged it’s “definitely a huge responsibility protecting someone like [quarterback] Aaron [Rodgers],” the four-time league MVP said Fashanu reminds him in many ways of former Jets tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, a member of the franchise’s Ring of Honor.
“I don’t like to do a lot of comparisons, but I will, in this case. From the beginning, I felt like he reminded me a lot of D’Brickashaw,” Rodgers said. “Personality-wise, and then just consistency. Obviously I didn’t play with Brick, but I know people who did, and I watched him from afar. It always felt like he was just so consistent week in and week out. He wasn’t getting beat a lot. He was in the right place. He was good in the run game. He was good in the pass game.
“And it’s just never been too big for Olu. I feel like he’s been consistent every day, he doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t make a repeat mistake. His attitude, he’s very quiet, and just kind of goes about his business. So I think he’s in a good spot. Obviously, he’s played a lot of left tackle, but he’s played right tackle for us in training camp and on the [scout] team the first three weeks. So I’m very confident in Olu.”