Cross-training began in the third week of Olu Fashanu’s training camp, but he still continued to play tackle.
The Jets took him in the first round of April’s draft with the intention of making him their left tackle of the future.
The 21-year-old spent a year studying behind Tyron Smith before eventually taking over the job of protecting the Gang Green quarterback’s blind side.
If all goes according to plan, Fashanu won’t have to play much in 2024.
This gave him the flexibility to teach another spot on the other side of the line.
But in Week 4, the Jets needed Fashanu to start at right tackle when Morgan Moses injured his knee.
And during Thursday’s 21-13 win over Texas, they needed Fashanu to play the final 37 snaps at right guard after injuries to Jake Hanson and John Simpson. And starting right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker missed his second straight game. A jet taking off.
Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said Fashanu has never had a live practice at right guard, while Max Mitchell, who replaced Simpson at left guard, will play his first extended minutes of 2024 at a position where he had never played a regular season snap before. recorded. .
Last season, injury after injury forced the Jets to constantly adjust their offensive line, ultimately causing the unit to fall apart.
In an attack full of them, it became a noticeable weak point.
But the line, which faced its most pressing crunch so far this year, allowed just two sacks against Texas, giving Aaron Rodgers plenty of time to orchestrate his best stretch of the season.
It served as a microcosm of the recent progress of this unit, which has allowed just six sacks in its last four games.
“Remarkable is one of the only words I can give you,” Ulbrich said Friday of Fashanu. “Here’s a guy who practices minus the walk-through reps and drills, and this is the only exposure he has to this position. “It’s unbelievable to go there and function like that when you don’t have a live person, you don’t have a team person.”
While the Jets were navigating last season’s offensive line disaster, Fashanu was midway through his final season as Penn State’s left tackle, scripting the final chapter of a college career in which he did not allow a single sack.
That earned him a spot near the top of draft boards among linemen and eventually landed him on the Jets’ radar.
Perhaps more than most teams, they needed help in front of Rodgers.
Gang Green has started 13 different combinations, ranging from Billy Turner and Xavier Newman to rookie Carter Warren and standout Laken Tomlinson, resulting in the third- and sixth-best passing grade and blocking grade, respectively, in 2023.
They have allowed the fourth-most sacks (64), and their first sack became the most important after Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon on his fourth offensive snap of the season.
This left general manager Joe Douglas with a unit in need of an upgrade during the offseason. He brought in Smith, 33, but a two-time first-team All-Pro.
He made a deal with the ravens to bring Moses back.
He also signed Simpson.
Those were all short-term fixes designed to help the Jets in a win window with Rodgers as the signal caller, but Douglas’ decision to draft Fashanu over a skill position player reflected his move with the most long-term upside potential.
But all of Fashanu’s first 196 career snaps occurred on the right side of the line.
Offseason trades can only account for so many injuries and so much confusion.
When Moses returned in the Week 3 win over the Patriots, Fashanu took over and started the next two games until Moses returned.
Then, following an injury Thursday, Fashanu stepped in and impressed during the snap. Although he committed a holding penalty that eliminated Rodgers’ scramble for a first down in the red zone.
“This is a will. [offensive line coach Keith Carter]And that’s a testament to the entire offensive line, the depth we have,” Ulbrich said Thursday. “It’s really cool that the guys stepped in and played as well as they did.”
It may not be sustainable.
Fashanu’s success in his new position may face obstacles.
Mitchell, who is in his third NFL season, could find himself in that situation, too.
Ulbrich did not provide any clarity on the status of Simpson or Hanson on Friday, and Vera-Tucker did not practice at all during the short week leading up to the Texans game.
But after a year of fiascos, the Jets’ backup has shown that it can adjust on the fly and hold its own with the most unexpected combinations, at least for now.
Linebacker Jamien Sherwood was fined $6,354 for unnecessary roughness with his helmet during a Week 8 hit that left Patriots quarterback Drake Maye with a concussion.
