Olu Fashanu’s midseason surge signals major breakthrough for Jets OL

It's been a dark and dreary season for the New York Jets. While all the focus is on the future, much of what we've had to be happy about is potential.

The potential that some of these young players could step up. The potential that the infrastructure could finally be in place to make the next rookie quarterback a success. The potential that brighter days might lie ahead.

But at a certain point, the rubber needs to meet the road. The Jets have dealt in potential and hypotheticals for far too long. The potential that Zach Wilson once showed. The potential that Sam Darnold has reached since escaping New York. For a battered fan base, talking about potential is tiresome.

And that's where the Jets were with Olu Fashanu. The 11th overall pick of the 2024 draft entered the league with the potential to be an elite left tackle. He showed flashes of potential when he bumped the ghost of Tyron Smith from the starting lineup this time last year.

The promising Penn State product was just that, a potential building block, but the start of the 2025 season showed he hadn't realized that potential. That might be changing now.

Olu Fashanu is beginning to cash in on his potential with the Jets

Billed as an elite pass blocker coming out of Happy Valley, Fashanu was a slightly better run blocker than pass blocker in 2024. At times, he looked impressive, but finishing with a 59.4 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade and a 61,4 run blocking grade, the best he could really say is that he looked good at points for a rookie.

The hope was that his sophomore season would see him take a leap. Instead, Fashanu allowed 18 pressures over his first five games and posted a 62.0 pass blocking grade.

However, since that lackluster start, Fashanu has begun to turn it on. Over his last five contests, Fashanu has earned an 80.2 pass blocking grade, which ranks 10th among all tackles in the same time period. With that, he's cut the pressures in half, allowing just nine.

He also hasn't been flagged since Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which coincidentally was when all three of the penalties he's been charged with have occurred.

On the other side, Armand Membou has mostly continued his impressive rookie season, save for a brief hiccup in Weeks 5 and 6. Joe Tippmann at guard has played like a low-end starter, though, except for dreadful performances in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills and Week 6 against the Denver Broncos, has been mostly solid.

Fashanu still needs to refine his work in the run game. His 58.4 run blocking grade leaves something to be desired, though he did just come off his best performance in that facet against the New England Patriots, posting a 69.2 mark.

Overall, you can see this young trio beginning to coalesce into a respectable unit. This obviously bodes well for the future, and while their ascension isn't complete, we're starting to see them gain some traction in the quest to convert potential into production. Finally.