Breaking Down The New York Jets' 2018 Draft Picks Not Named Sam Darnold: Folorunso Fatukasi, DT, Connecticut (Round 6, Pick 6)
We’re officially close enough to the NFL season to start talking about it. You can taste it in the air when you wake up in the morning (if you’re homeless or sleep outside a lot), and you can feel it in your bones when you lay down to rest at night.
For us Jets fans, the feeling in our bones is a little more painful than most, because we’re stuck rooting for a usually-incompetent franchise that always seems to do just well enough to get our hopes up before they rip our hearts out. It is what it is. This is a new year and we’ve got a whole new crop of players around camp to get excited about.
All we’ve heard about since the draft has been about Sam Darnold out of USC, who fell into our lap after the teams ahead of us in the draft made some questionable decisions, and how much potential he has and what that could mean for the future of our franchise. Don’t get me wrong, having someone with his pedigree is exciting as hell and I really want to see him succeed, but I’ve seen this movie before. I know how it usually goes for us when we’re gifted someone as talented as Sam Darnold could be. I guess what I’m saying is I’ll believe it when I see it. As for the other guys we drafted? It’s completely safe and rational to get fired up over what type of potential they have in the greatest league on Earth. That’s what this is about.
I present to you a breakdown of all the guys the New York Jets drafted who aren’t named Sam Darnold, because it’s time to start getting excited about watching backups play in the NFL Preseason.
Nathan Shepherd Breakdown (Round 3, Pick 8)
Folorunso Fatukasi: Defensive Tackle, Connecticut, Round 6, Pick 6 (No. 180 overall)
Let’s get this kid’s name outta the way first.
(Fo-luh-ROON-so) (Fah-too-KAH-si)
Okay cool now that we covered that, let’s talk about him as a football player. Folorunso Fatukasi is another BEHEMOTH of a man, measuring in at the NFL Combine at 6’4″ and 318 lbs. He also put up 225 lbs. on the bench 33 times, the 8th highest total at the entire event and 5th highest total for all defensive lineman.
Fatukasi played at the University of Connecticut, an elite basketball school that doesn’t have a ton of history producing NFL caliber talent. A 4-year starter, his stats don’t necessarily jump off the page. But he put up solid numbers year after year and finished his college career with 14 sacks and 21 TFL.
The difference between Fatukasi and a guy like Nathan Shepherd, who the Jets’ drafted with their 3rd round pick, seems to be his lack of athleticism and consistent production against the run. Scouting reports on Fatukasi going into the draft questioned his athleticism along with his ability to get off blocks and control the point of attack against guys he can’t overpower.
For a 6th round pick who at a glance slots into our defense as nothing more than a depth guy inside, the concerns are far from enough to get worked up over. He’s a strong mother fucker who should be able to step right in this season and help spell the starters every now and then, and there are a lot of people who think he can develop into a starter himself with time and the right coaching.
After watching as much game film as I could find on him, I think I agree. The Jets are a team blessed with some solid depth on the defensive line already, but I don’t see why a guy like Folorunso Fatukasi can’t find a spot on the roster.
Reports out of camp so far are that he’s been impressive, even earning some reps with the 1s, so I’m excited to see how the rest of preseason goes and what type of niche he can carve out for himself.
I’ll start the GIFs by focusing on some of the major concerns surrounding Fatukasi’s game. There were a lotta plays on the full game film I watched where Fatukasi barely made an impact, if you don’t count occupying a blocker as making an impact, and that’s obviously part of the reason he dropped to the 6th round, but there were also a lot of moments where he flashed the kind of player he can develop into against the run. He shows so much raw power when he wants to.
This might’ve been my favorite play of his I came across. Fatukasi is lined up across from the center, shaded to the strong side of the offense when the ball is snapped. SMU tries to run a little misdirection play, with both guards and the center down blocking while the left tackle is tasked with pulling across the line.
The right guard for SMU is stuck with the responsibility of controlling Fatukasi on a relatively simple down block, but obviously things didn’t go as planned. Although it definitely looks like the defensive play call had Fatukasi slanting hard left on the snap, his ability to blow up his blocker and push him 4 yards into the backfield disrupts the entire play. The pulling tackle runs into the guard, who Fatukasi is manhandling, and then the RB runs into all 3 of them resulting in a major loss on the play.
I understand that given the fact he was on a slant that particular play, his ability to be disruptive there is probably more thanks to the coaches and their game plan than it is Fatukasi. But the raw power he shows absolutely caught my attention.
Here’s another play where Fatukasi flashes the type of impact he could eventually have against the run with the right coaching.
Lined up again heads up with the center, he feels the offensive line start to flow left in a pretty basic zone blocking scheme, takes a hard step right and then over powers his man into the backfield before taking the ball carrier down for another huge loss.
At the very least, if I’m gonna take a DT late in the draft like the Jets did with Fatukasi, he needs to be a guy who warrants double teams in the middle, especially as a lot of offenses are incorporating more and more zone blocking schemes like in the play above. Obviously the jump in talent from the American Athletic Conference to the NFL is significant, but there’s no reason to think Fatukasi doesn’t have that type of potential within.
We’ve got another example of Fatukasi making a play against the run here. This is more of what the Jets will want to see from him in camp and during the preseason if he wants to earn some more playing time.
The key here is that Fatukasi doesn’t come hard off the snap with a slant to either side, something he was asked to do a lot for UConn in his 4 years. Instead, he steps at his man and uses his strength to control the point of attack, pushing him back and creating separation while again keeping his eyes in the backfield.
The RB makes the right read and attacks what appears to be a seam in the line, but because Fatukasi is able to quickly establish control of his man and assess the play, he easily sheds the block and wraps up the ball carrier with one of his massive meat hooks before taking him to the ground and devouring him beneath his mass like he’s “The Revolting Blob”, shoutout Billy Madison.
One last ridiculous display of strength by Folorunso Fatukasi. The key in this one is how he shifts gaps right before the snap, barely having enough time to even get his hand down on the ground before the play begins.
I’m not a numbers guy, but I’d be willing to bet that when a defensive lineman gets caught mid-shift by the snap then immediately hit by a center coming at him with two steps worth of momentum, the battle will end up going the way of the offensive player more often than not.
I guess Folorunso Fatukasi is an outlier. Watch how he meets his man, establishes control despite being off balance and pushes him into the backfield before wrapping up the RB, again with just one arm.
I know these are just clips compiled from various highlight reels and they don’t truly speak on his college production, or lack thereof as a whole. But I don’t see a guy lacking the potential to become effective against the run when I watch this dude play. I see a guy who did what he was asked to do in a defensive scheme for 4 years and has all the necessary tools to get better and better as his career progresses.
Time for some pass rushing clips.
Folorunso Fatukasi’s career as a pass rusher peaked his sophomore year at UConn, when he racked up 7.5 sacks in 11 games. Over the next 22 games of his career, he only had 6.5, which you might be able to attribute to him seeing a lot more double teams after his breakout sophomore campaign. Either way, his lack of athleticism and production as a pass rusher at the DT position combined with the concerns about his consistency against the run are exactly why Nathan Shepherd went in the 3rd round and Fatukasi fell to the 6th.
That being said, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a ton of impressive moments on film like the one below right here.
If I watch that clip over and over enough times I could probably achieve an orgasm with my hands tied behind my back. If we could zoom in, I bet you can see the exact moment that OL realizes he’s absolutely fucked.
Look at how Fatukasi grabs the blocker’s shoulder pad with his right hand and tosses him to the ground while simultaneous swimming through with his left arm to cut of the QB’s angle and record the sack. What a thing of beauty.
Of course, the nature of pass blocking technique means that you’re essentially going up against a guy who already has most of his momentum going backwards, but that doesn’t take away from Fatukasi completely fucking dominating this guy.
Here’s another great example of Fatukasi with his whole pass rushing toolbox on display.
He slants hard to his left off the snap, most likely another pre-determined play call, before being picked up by the right guard, who appears to have perfect pass blocking position on the DT with all of Fatukasi’s momentum taking him away from the pocket.
Wrong.
Watch how Fatukasi engages his blocker while he finds the QB, then uses a right arm to the collarbone of the guard to knock him completely off balance. That’s some straight up grizzly bear strength. The sack at the end of the play is just fucking gravy.
People don’t expect much out of 6th round picks, and with good reason. There are simply too many talented athletes already in the league for every guy that gets drafted to stick around without fear of getting cut. For a team like the New York Jets, who already have an established All-Pro caliber talent in Leonard Williams, a seasoned veteran like Steve McLendon, and even another more highly regarded rookie in Nathan Shepherd, the Folorunso Fatukasi pick might’ve seemed a little questionable to some.
In most cases, guys taken after the 4th round are forced to adapt, learn the playbook, and grow as players as quickly as possible, all with the possibility of getting sent home before the end of the summer hanging over their heads. With that in mind, I refuse to believe the Jets would use a 6th round pick on Folorunso Fatukasi without seeing all of his potential and having a plan to maximize it.
I’ll go on record and say Fatukasi will never grow into a dominant, all-around interior defensive lineman, like someone as talented as Aaron Donald or Leonard Williams. He probably won’t ever become a Damon Harrison type either, or someone who you can put in the middle of your D-line play after play and know that his presence alone will result positive outcomes.
The question then becomes, can Folorunso Fatukasi use his elite strength to develop into a situational player early enough in his career to warrant sticking around with our beloved New York Jets? I’m excited to see how Fatukasi gets used in the preseason and early on in the regular season, but that doesn’t mean I’m expecting him to rack up sacks Week 1 of the preseason vs. Atlanta.
If the Jets use him in the right schemes, perhaps in the middle with Steve McLendon whenever Todd Bowles decides to toy around with 4 down lineman, and let him be a one-gap player with limited responsibilities, I think he could absolutely end up having some solid value for us, especially given being taken 180th overall.
If that’s the case, I think we’re gonna end up looking back at this pick with absolutely nothing negative to say about it.
Stay tuned for the next New York Jets 2018 Draft Pick Not Named Sam Darnold Breakdown. Preseason football is coming. It’s time to educate yourself and get ready for Week 1.