Penn State's Olu Fashanu, Chop Robinson chosen 11th, 21st in NFL Draft 1st round by Jets, Dolphins

Almost all of the NFL Draft watchers projected Penn State offensive tackle Olumuyiwa (pronounced O-LOU-moo-YEE-wuh) Fashanu to be selected in the first round, and that became reality Thursday night when he came off the board 11th overall to the New York Jets.

Fashanu was joined in the first round by teammate edge rusher Chop Robinson, who was chosen by the Miami Dolphins with the 21st overall selection. The dual choices mark the second time in four years (10th overall) Penn State had multiple first-round selections. Micah Parsons (12th overall, Dallas Cowboys) and Odafe Oweh (31st overall, Baltimore Ravens) were chosen in 2021.

Fashanu (6-foot-6, 317 pounds) started 21 games in three seasons at Penn State, including 12 last year at left tackle. He also has played guard and center. He was the third tackle drafted, behind Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Alabama’s J..C. Latham.

There are not many stats that quantify the worth of offensive linemen, but Fashanu vaulted to the top of one that matters most when he did not allow a sack last season in 365 pass-blocking snaps. He did not even allow a pressure in 43 total pass protection snaps in the West Virginia and Delaware games.

Still, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper believes Fashanu needs some polish.

“He needs to be coached,” Kiper said on ESPN immediately after the Jets chose Fashanu. “There are things he has to work on. Needs to play with more consistent leverage … needs to make better initial contact, pad level is always not what it needs to be. There are subtle things, coaching-wise, he can improve on.”

ESPN’s Booger McFarland believes Fashanu can develop into one of the best pass blockers in the NFL.

“This is a passing league,” McFarland said. “His ability to mirror and stay in front of defensive ends in pass block, to me, can be second to none. He’s got Pro Bowl potential.”

At the end of the season, Fashanu piled up several honors, earning consensus All-American status, along with first-team All-Big Ten and Penn State’s team MVP. He was a second-team All-American in 2022, even though he missed the final five games with a meniscus injury.

Before college, he was something of an afterthought in the 2020 recruiting class.

A Waldorf, Md., native, he didn’t play football at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., until his freshman year when he ended up a teammate of quarterback Caleb Williams, the first overall choice in the draft Thursday.

Fashanu was only a three-star college prospect, and The Athletic reported there were 31 offensive tackles rated ahead of him nationwide, including five in the Washington, D.C., area. Some schools even labeled him “a project.”

He had offers from several high-profile schools, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State. Penn State nabbed him, but he was ranked 21st in its 27-man class.

After the 2022 season, Fashanu received first-round feedback from NFL teams, and coach James Franklin told him he should leave, The Athletic reported. His mom, Paige, would not hear of it, and she told Penn State her son was there to complete his degree.

At the NFL Combine this year, he cut short his workout when he suffered a right thigh injury, according to the NFL Network’s Stacey Dales. He ran a 5.11-second 40-yard dash, one of the best runs in combine history for a player at that weight. He also recorded a 32-inch vertical and 9-feet, 1-inch broad jump.

Before Robinson went to the combine, there were questions about whether teams would spend a Day 1 selection on him. Those questions were answered in a positive manner at the combine, and the Dolphins made him the third Penn State defensive player drafted in the first round under Franklin.

Robinson (6-3, 254) ran a 4.48 40-yard dash, second at the combine for edge rushers, and a 1.54-second clocking in the 10-yard burst, one of the best times for a player of his size. With that level of quickness, Robinson’s first step could be problematic for any NFL offensive lineman trying to contain him.

Overall at the combine, Robinson showed good athleticism for a big man, recording 34 1/2 inches in the vertical jump and 10 feet, 8 inches in the broad jump.

During Penn State’s season, Robinson recorded 7 1/2 tackles for a loss, including four sacks, with five quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles.

Robinson was rated the No. 26 overall draft prospect by The Athletic and the No. 4 edge rusher behind Alabama’s Dallas Turner, Florida State’s Jared Verse and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, all of whom were drafted ahead of him.

With a given name of Demeioun Robinson, he weighed 14 pounds at birth, one of eight children to his family in Germantown, Md. His size earned him the nickname Pork Chop, shortened to Chop in middle school.

“Chop will be an explosive, disruptive pass rusher and run stopper in the NFL,” Franklin said in a statement released by Penn State on Thursday night. “He was determined and committed to taking his game to the next level the moment he stepped on campus (at Penn State).”