With the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft, the Arizona Cardinals selected offensive tackle Paris Jackson Jr. Five picks into the second round, the Los Angeles Rams took offensive guard Steve Avila out of TCU.
So if Jackson, the top offensive tackle prospect in 2023 and one of five players at his position taken in the first round, was a top-6 selection and Avila, the highest-picked interior offensive lineman, was an early second rounder, where will a player who can potentially play both positions land?
That’s the question Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu posed to the NFL. Now, the answer is known.
The Steelers took Fautanu with the No. 20 pick in the first round on Thursday. He’s the third Washington player drafted in the first round, and the first UW offensive lineman picked in the top 32 since Kaleb McGary went to the Atlanta Falcons with the 31st overall pick in 2019.
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Fautanu’s selection means Washington has three first-round draft picks for just the second time in its history. quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was selected by the Falcons with the eighth pick. Wide receiver Rome Odunze went to the Bears with the next pick. Defensive tackle Danny Shelton, cornerback Marcus Peters and linebacker Shaq Thompson all went in the first round during the 2015 season, setting the program record.
The 6-foot-4, 317-pound offensive lineman had an outstanding 2023 season. Fautanu played all 15 games for the Huskies, was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2023, won the Morris Trophy as the conference’s best offensive lineman and helped anchor a unit which won the 2023 Joe Moore Award as the country’s best offensive line for the first time in program history.
It was the pinnacle of a stellar collegiate career for Fautanu. The Henderson, Nev. native arrived at Washington as an early enrollee before the 2019 season. He was considered a four-star prospect by 247Sports composite rankings, choosing UW instead of offers from schools like Oregon, USC, UCLA and BYU among others.
Fautanu’s versatility may have impacted his recruitment. He played both sides of the line of scrimmage for Southern Nevada preps powerhouse Liberty High School, and was recruited by some teams to play defensive line instead of offensive line. Fautanu committed to Washington to play offensive line, however, for position coach Scott Huff.
As expected for most offensive linemen, Fautanu redshirted during the 2019 season and made his UW debut during the COVID-impacted 2020 campaign, playing four games. He appeared in nine games as a sophomore during the turbulent 2021 season.
Fautanu’s first start came in a 21-16 win against Arizona on Oct. 22 at left tackle for the injured Jaxson Kirkland. He made two more starts for UW in 2021, filling in for Kirkland again during the 20-13 win against Stanford Oct. 30 and playing left guard during Washington’s 40-13 Apple Cup embarrassment against cross-state rivals Washington State.
Huff was retained by incoming coach Kalen DeBoer for the 2022 season, one of the few holdovers from former coach Jimmy Lake’s staff, and Fautanu started the first three games as the team’s left tackle.
Kirkland returned from injury to play against Stanford Sept. 24 and the Huskies briefly moved Fautanu inside to left guard, but he returned to the tackle spot for the remainder of the season with Kirkland moving inside. He was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection, and had the option to declare for the draft. However, Fautanu announced he’d return for another season on Dec. 19.
Fautanu’s choice proved correct. The Huskies assembled a 14-1 season, won the Pac-12 Championship in front of his hometown crowd at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, became the first Pac-12 team to win the Sugar Bowl and made an appearance in the College Football Playoff championship game.
His 2023 performances raised his draft stock, too. FOXSports draft analyst Rob Rang said Fautanu’s frame is slightly smaller than some NFL teams prefer, but added his versatility and experience at both guard and tackle make him intriguing to any teams in need of offensive line help.
Fautanu ran a 5.01-second 40-yard dash at the combine, less than a tenth of a second off former UW teammate Roger Rosengarten, who led all offensive linemen. Fautanu’s 9-foot-5-inch broad jump and 32.5-inch vertical leap — paired with a strong outing at Washington’s pro day — kept him among the position’s elite athletes.
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