• Olu Fashanu boasts top-10 potential in 2024 draft: The Penn State standout could have been a first-rounder in 2023 had he declared.
• Notre Dame's Joe Alt comes in at No. 2: He allowed just a 2.5% pressure rate on 409 pass-blocking snaps in 2022.
• Amarius Mims follows in promising footsteps: Broderick Jones, Georgia's left tackle in 2022, went on to be a first-round pick. Mims now has a chance to do the same.
Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
Summer scouting rolls on with the early top offensive tackle prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class. It’s shaping up to be a good year to need an offensive tackle, as the headliner of this class, Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, would’ve been a first-round pick (probably a top-10 pick) in 2022 had he declared. Beyond Fashanu, Note Dame’s Joe Alt and Duke’s Graham Barton are first-round-caliber players, and there are plenty of Day 2 names to know further down the list.
Click here to read about the top 10 quarterbacks, here for running backs, here for wide receivers and here for tight ends.
1. OLU FASHANU, PENN STATE
Fashanu got a first-round grade from the NFL draft advisory board for the 2023 class, but as just a redshirt sophomore at the time, he opted to return to Penn State for another season.
He opens the year as our top offensive tackle, one who has top-10 — and even top-five — potential. His 6-foot-6, 319-pound frame is above the 50th percentile for NFL offensive tackles in both height and weight. He allowed no sacks on 299 true pass-blocking snaps in 2022, with a pressure percentage of just 3.0%.
Fashanu's movement skills at his size are impressive. He covers so much ground in his kick slides and combines that with great balance when mitigating contact. His IQ is also far beyond his years. He understands the importance of offensive line chemistry and pressure that could come from all angles. He’ll also be just 21 years old on draft night in 2024.
2. JOE ALT, NOTRE DAME
The massive 6-foot-8 Joe Alt has been on NFL radars since high school. His frame will naturally remind people of former Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey, who was 6-foot-7 and 309 pounds at the 2018 NFL Combine.
Alt provides the same allurement with his size; he’s just so tough to get around. But where some offensive tackles get by with just being mountains on the edge, Alt has some finesse to his game, too. His feet are light and quick for a player of his size, and that showed up in his PFF stats, allowing just a 2.5% pressure rate on 409 pass-blocking snaps in 2022. He also showed his power in the ground game with an elite 91.4 run-blocking grade. He could make a case as the top offensive tackle in the draft.
3. GRAHAM BARTON, DUKE
Barton is going to get the Peter Skoronski treatment this draft cycle with questions over whether he’s an offensive tackle or an offensive guard. My answer right now: He’s just a damn-good football player.
At 6-foot-5 and 306 pounds, he’s below the 30th percentile in both height and weight. You can also see on tape he likely won’t be crossing any traditional arm-length thresholds for playing offensive tackle. But just watch what he does on the field. He played seven sports growing up, and that athleticism is evident in how he moves. As a puller and lead blocker on the hoof on power run concepts, he recorded a 91.4 run-blocking grade in 2022, often erasing linebackers and apex defenders outside the tackle box. He also allowed just two sacks on 457 pass-blocking snaps. The trait I like the most about him, though, is grip strength. He has a good awareness of where his hands should go, and when he latches on, he doesn’t break.
4. JC LATHAM, ALABAMA
Latham had some of the highest highs of our summer offensive tackle watch, but also some of the less memorable reps, especially among the players in this top five. He’s a former five-star recruit who was a first-time starter in 2022, earning the right tackle gig for the Crimson Tide. On the year, he didn't allow a single sack across 426 true pass-blocking snaps.
First and foremost, he checks the measurable boxes at 6-foot-6 and 335 pounds. His footwork and hand movement were both quicker than you’d think for a player who can win with power the way he does. He also is comfortable in a variety of different pre-snap bases with his foot distance for run blocking and pass blocking, depending on where the nearest defender is aligned (shows good balance). Auburn pushed him around a bit and got him off his game. That revealed a bit of a trend: When he anticipates correctly, it is very hard to get around him. But when you can catch him off guard, he’s not as quick to recover.
That’s the next step we need to see, and if we do, the first round is certainly realistic.
5. JORDAN MORGAN, ARIZONA
Morgan is one of the biggest risers from a year ago and, honestly, could have been a solid draft pick in the 2023 NFL Draft if he didn’t tear his ACL in 2022.
Prior to his injury, Morgan was having a career year. He finished 2021 with a lowly 53.8 pass-blocking and 54.0 run-blocking grade but rebounded last season with an 82.4 pass-blocking grade and a 78.9 run-blocking grade. He was a different player in all the right ways. He’s on the smaller side for offensive tackles, at 6-foot-4 1/2 and 306 pounds, but that smaller size comes with speed and movement benefits. He also shows good flexibility, consistently squatting in his stance — not just at the snap, but as he is kicking in his pass sets, ready to generate as much power as possible from his lower half.
If he can come back and be the same player he was in 2022, he’ll rise up draft boards.
6. AMARIUS MIMS, GEORGIA
Georgia’s left tackle last season, Broderick Jones, ascended from a promising young player with great size and movement skills to a first-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 14 overall. Mims may not reach those heights, but he possesses a lot of the same promise Jones had before the season last year.
Mims is a 6-foot-7, 330-pound former five-star offensive lineman who saw 368 snaps at right tackle as a true sophomore in 2022. His youthfulness and inexperience show up with a lack of anticipation on some reps, but he understands the importance of leverage, can move very well as a puller and pass blocker and has good power in his game. His hand placement needs more consistency and can be overaggressive at times, as he likes to set the tone. But if he can get more patience in his game, there is a lot to get excited about.
7. KINGSLEY SUAMATAIA, BYU
Suamataia is a 6-foot-6, 315-pound former five-star offensive tackle who started his career at Oregon. He was only in Eugene for one season, as he wanted to be closer to family in Utah.
This past season, now at BYU, he allowed zero sacks on 337 pass-blocking snaps with a 3.3% pressure rate. Notably in the run game, he recorded a 62.6 run-blocking grade from Weeks 0-7 but an 81.4 run-blocking grade from Week 8 on. That is evidence of his talent now coming alive as he gets more snaps at the college level. His size and movement skills that made him a top recruit pop out right away. But his hand placement, when and where he locks his grip on defenders and the balance in his footwork don’t look as precise and comfortable as they could. If he is able to hone his technique this season, he’ll gain a lot of fans in the draft community for his intangibles.
8. PATRICK PAUL, HOUSTON
Paul aces the “off the bus” test, as he measures in at 6-foot-7 and 308 pounds. He sticks out immediately on Houston’s offensive line for that reason. He posted an elite 93.0 pass-blocking grade in 2022, allowing just one sack on 595 pass-blocking snaps. His arm length is a huge plus, and he used that to really battle Tyree Wilson when the Cougars played Texas Tech early in the 2022 season. His lack of natural leverage does show up against smaller, more flexible edge rushers who can get into his chest, and his read-and-react time is a tick slow. But when he anticipates well, it’s damn near impossible to get around him.
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