Jets’ swing-tackle experiment with Olu Fashanu off to encouraging start

Olu Fashanu is feeling right …. tackle that is.

The Jets first-round pick worked at right tackle last week, including in Saturday’s preseason game with the Panthers , after beginning training camp at left tackle.

The Jets are trying to cross train Fashanu so that he can be their swing tackle during the season and be the primary backup at both spots.

For Fashanu, it is a completely new position. He never played right tackle before this week.

“It definitely is an adjustment from always playing left tackle to transitioning to right tackle,” Fashanu said. “I definitely had my fair share of reps that I needed to work on. But I think I’m in a good spot right now and I just need to continue to get better.”

The Jets took Fashanu out of Penn State with the No. 11 pick overall in this year’s draft.

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For many rookies taken that early in the draft, the expectation would be to start right away. But the Jets hope Fashanu does not have to play at all this season. That would mean veteran tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses remained healthy in front of Aaron Rodgers.

The Jets know all too well how unlikely that is, though.

Injuries along the offensive line have plagued this team in recent years.

They used 13 different starting offensive line combinations last season. That was part of the reason they selected Fashanu in the first round. They now feel they have depth on the line in case injuries crop up.

Fashanu spent the first three weeks of camp working exclusively at left tackle, his natural position.

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The Jets wanted him to get comfortable there before introducing the right side. Last week, he spent the entire week at right tackle.

Against the Panthers, Fashanu allowed only one pressure in 16 pass-blocking snaps, per ESPN. He also was flagged for holding. Jets coach Robert Saleh praised Fashanu after the game.

“Yeah, new spot. It’s never easy,” Saleh said. “I thought he did a nice job. He handled it well. That first practice he was at right tackle was pretty rough for him, and I thought he got better as the week went on. He had the holding penalty [Saturday], but overall I thought he did a pretty good job.”

Fashanu has played the first half of both Jets preseason games. The Jets want to get Fashanu as many reps as possible now because the expectation is he won’t play much as a rookie.

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For the casual football fan, it may seem like moving from left tackle to right tackle is no big deal, but Fashanu explained how awkward it can feel.

“I think it’s definitely like a feeling thing,” he said. “You’re always so used to be in a staggered [stance] with your left foot back and now when you switch it to the right, at times it can feel like a completely different thing. At times, it felt a bit weird. The more reps you get, the better it feels eventually.”

Some linemen have compared the move to using your non-dominant hand to write.

“I just try not to think about it too much,” Fashanu said. “At the end of the day, it’s all just football. I’m just switching over to the other side of the ball. For me, it’s more so just making sure I control all my controllables and I’m getting off the ball on time, making sure I’m not late off the ball, making sure I’m in the right position to make whatever block I need to do.”

Fashanu knows that being able to play either spot is only going to help him in his young career.

“It was a great experience,” Fashanu said of the game. “Obviously, I’ve never played at right tackle before in an actual game. It felt really good just getting game reps. It’s just going to help me in the long run for my career just being versatile and being able to play multiple positions.”

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