Multiple Penn State Football players had strong showings at the NFL Combine, and that has led to a boost in their draft stock.
A recent mock draft by Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports has two former Penn State football standouts being selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The first is offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, who Trapasso has going No. 10 overall to the New York Jets. There may not be a team in the NFL more in need of offensive line help than the Jets as they try to protect an aging Aaron Rodgers, who is coming off a severe Achilles injury.
Fashanu was a star in his two seasons as a starter for Penn State football. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 317 pounds, Fashanu excels in pass protection; he did not allow a single sack in his two seasons as a starter for the Nittany Lions.
Fashanu was limited during the combine due to a thigh injury, but he noted that he hopes to be good to go for Penn State football’s pro day later this month.
The second Nittany Lion Trapasso has going in the first round is defensive end Chop Robinson. Robinson is projected to go No. 23 overall to the Houston Texans. After playing his freshman season at Maryland, the pass rush specialist transferred to Penn State.
In two seasons with Penn State football, Robinson racked up 9.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss. He turned heads at the combine after running a 4.48 40-yard dash at 6-foot-3 and 258 pounds. Since that performance, Robinson has appeared frequently in first round mocks and looks to be on his way to hearing his name called on Day 1 of the NFL Draft.
If the Texans were to select Robinson, they would line him up opposite of Will Anderson Jr., who Houston selected third overall at the 2023 NFL Draft. The young Texans would have one of the youngest and most explosive pass rush duos in the NFL.
Penn State football is no stranger to success with defensive ends in the NFL draft in recent years. Yetur Gross-Matos was an early second round selection of the Carolina Panthers in the 2020 draft. The following year, both Micah Parsons and Odafe Oweh were first-round selections of the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens, respectfully. Then in 2022, Arnold Ebiketie was selected No. 38 overall by the Altana Falcons.
Penn State’s other starting defensive end from the 2023 season, Adisa Isaac, also had a strong showing at the combine and has worked his way up to a second-round selection is some mocks.
Fashanu is more of a rarity for Penn State as the Nittany Lions have not had an offensive lineman taken in the first round of the NFL Draft since Levi Brown was the No. 5 overall selection in the 2007 draft by the Arizona Cardinals.