The New York Jets signed first-round draft pick Olu Fashanu to a four-year, $20.51 million contract on Monday.
The deal with the former Penn State offensive tackle is fully guaranteed and includes a fifth-year team option. Fashanu was the 11th overall pick last month after the Jets traded down one spot with the Minnesota Vikings.
The 6-foot-6, 312-pound Fashanu gives the Jets depth on their revamped offensive line, added protection for quarterback Aaron Rodgers and a potential future starter.
“The young man is only 21 years old and he hasn’t even scratched the surface,” coach Robert Saleh said shortly after Fashanu was drafted. “And he is walking into a situation where he is going to learn exactly what it takes to last in this league.”
Fashanu was an Associated Press first-team All-America selection and the Big Ten offensive lineman of the year last season. He was a two-year starter at left tackle for the Nittany Lions and allowed only one sack in his entire college career.
He’s expected to back up veteran Tyron Smith this season after the former Dallas Cowboys star signed a one-year deal with the Jets worth up to $20 million.
“I feel like I’m kind of living like a fairytale or something like that,” Fashanu said after he was drafted. “He was the first player I ever watched, watching film as a tackle. I didn’t start playing football until I was a freshman in high school, and him at the time, he was the absolute standard at left tackle.
“So, for me, getting the opportunity to watch years upon years of film of him and now having this great opportunity to learn with him, learn any bits or tips of advice he has for me, what more could I ask for?”
Fashanu was limited during rookie minicamp earlier this month while still recovering from a strained quadriceps suffered running the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in Indianapolis in February, but is expected to be healthy for the start of training camp in July.
NOTES: The Jets also announced the signings of RB Braelon Allen, a fourth-rounder from Wisconsin; their three fifth-round picks — QB Jordan Travis from Florida State, RB Isaiah Davis from South Dakota State and CB Qwan’tez Stiggers, who’s believed to be the first CFL player drafted by an NFL team without any college playing experience — and seventh-rounder Jaylen Key, a safety from Alabama who was this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant” as the final pick in the draft. … New York’s only unsigned pick is third-round WR Malachi Corley.
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