Penn State NFL draft preview: Can Olu Fashanu prove late critics wrong? Chop Robinson rising?

hello everybody it is Wednesday in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania my name is Adam bner assistant sports editor for multimedia at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette join for our weekly pennate football podcast by Seth Engel of the post cazette and the daily Collegian previewing the NFL draft for uh Penn State prospects where will they go what are the things that could hold them down what are the things that could boost them up in the draft order maybe make them surprise picks gonna get into all of that uh before we do Seth how are you doing well yeah it's uh as we were just discussing before he hopped on here you know this is my last week of I guess real school ever um so a little weird but you know it's it's good and the weather's been great in State College so just trying to make the most of that and and yeah yeah you're going to enjoy the uh the final week college at the bar but but possibly keep an eye on uh the NFL draft while you're there um hopefully we can um maybe get your reactions later on to to how things sort out but but before we uh you know before we get to that part we have to actually get through the draft itself so let's talk about how things you know may unfold for for Penn State's top prospects and even some of their prospects that kind of maybe will go lower down the order um Seth let's start with Olu fashu are you worried about him falling at all I've seen some commentary particularly late in the process um you know Lance zerine Dar Daniel Jeremiah some pretty high-powered names and others um that see him as less of a finished product than I think maybe you and I do I think Daniel Jeremiah had him all the way down to number 15 in terms of his rankings of of draft prospects which um you know if if things don't fall the right way in terms of of quarterbacks Rising receivers Rising you know maybe he could drop to you know as far as where the Steelers are at at number 20 um what are your thoughts on on the kind of these late assessments that have had you know Olu falling off here late later on yeah I mean the the assessments are kind of interesting it feels like there's a of okay he's still a super raw Prospect and then you know maybe he wasn't as dominated as uh as dominant as as maybe people have projected him uh this past season I don't agree with that you know we saw him this year um he was lights out every week you know very consistent guy um you know pretty much his whole career at Penn State and um if it were up to me you know I'd put him in the top 10 as a lock but I'm looking at a lot of these mock drafts and you're seeing more and more of him you know getting closer to that number 15 pick you know like you mentioned with Steelers at 20 you know getting around that range as well and maybe even below there um which is confusing to me it also has to do with the fact that you know it's a loaded kind of class with quarterbacks it's a loaded class with wide receivers and especially loaded with offensive linemen you know there could be you know three to four offensive linemen taken um by the time he hears his name um it's really just a matter of which whether teams have him you know above certain guys on their board or not yeah I I think it's it's just interesting to see because I think I talked about him on a Steelers mock draft for the first time this week uh when we were down at Mike's beer bar if you missed that video check it out um Olu wasn't quite the focus of it we were talking about Graham Barton but um there was a mock that for the first time had had tied him to the Steelers at number 20 I said is it possible he could fall that far um our draft experts Chris Carter Brian beo don't think so um but you know he was the fourth offensive tackle taken in that mock draft and that didn't seem like like a completely crazy juggling of the order either Seth and it wasn't just about you know is Olu falling off in comparison to other offensive tackles I think he still holds up in that top two to four range um it's just a question of where that two to four range ends up getting taken in this draft right yeah no for sure I mean he's we we know what what we're getting in Olu fashion know I think just having watched Penn State so closely um I just don't know if that's the case for you know a lot of these Scouts I mean I'm sure they have but and we talked about this a couple weeks ago too um where it's like when some guys just start really you know trending upwards you know around the time of the combine um and around their their pro day like that helps a lot you know Olu was a guy who was constantly in that one and two conversation with Joe Al um really until I guess a couple months ago um and I think his injury did have something to do with that where you know he he had his his uh combined cut short and he wasn't able to participate in his pro day um so his name really isn't trending as much as some of these other guys who are now we're seeing mocked maybe ahead of him that we weren't um during the season yeah I think tyus fuaga um Troy fanu are names that are kind of in the mix that that I don't think we anticipated being real competition for Olu um in that regard the Lance Zer line criticism that that kind of stuck with me was well he's technically down but maybe he needs better instincts I mean to me I'd rather have that than the other way around I'd rather have a guy that's got the instincts but not necessarily the frame um and the the professional technique to to kind of execute so I I think there's still a lot to like about him um I'd be surprised if he falls to the Steelers of 20 I'm gonna say just based on on my reading of what the stock is at this point he's looking like a 10 to 15 guy to me um so maybe lower than we first anticipated but still very solid and I don't think he's in any Jeopardy of becoming um you know one of those guys that's sitting in the room with the camera on him is why why is this guy falling I don't think that's going to happen to him I think he's still going to be taken pretty pretty high and I think it's G be a question of how many of these teams want to chase these quarterbacks we'll have to see come Thursday night um the other first round Prospect Penn State likely has is is chop Robinson um the knock seems to be on him that that the production never quite uh matched up with um you know how disruptive he was I think he finished his his career with 11 and a half sacks at Penn State that's not a ton for a single season let alone a whole career but the Pro Football Focus scores I mean I I look at those every week he was always popping off even going back to to last season L Li this past one um what do you think about his potential to be a finisher in the NFL set a guy who can hit double digit sacks in a season because I think that's going to determine how teams see him as you know is he G to be a a Bonafide first round pick I think that's the bar you got to get double digit sacks in the season or or is he going to still struggle to finish at the NFL level if if he couldn't quite do it at the college level this reminds me a lot of you know when Jason OA now known as adaf was coming out of college and into the NFL um I don't believe he had a single sack in his final year at Penn State and there were a lot of people knocking him for that um and saying well he hasn't really produced the numbers so how is he going to uh really transition to the NFL level um and since that point you know DFE OE has been a consistent starter on the Ravens um and he has had no trouble you know getting into that back field and chop Robinson you know I think is honestly a better Prospect than than OA um you know this was a guy who yeah maybe he doesn't have the sack numbers per se um but he is one of the most consistent Edge rushers at creating pressure um and really just finding his way um right next to the quarterback um it seemed like you know every time that he would rush um he was beating that o lineman um whether he registered a sack or a tfl um you know I think I think chop is Twitchy and athletic um and he just really has just a knack for getting past lineman and into the back field and and I think he has kind of some stuff that you can't really teach and um you know I think he's definitely um I think he's in line for a good NFL career whether he's playing outside linebacker or you know whether they keep on the on the D line there do you think he's definitely a first round pick if we're sitting here on Friday morning do you think we're we're talking about him going somewhere in that 15 to to I don't know 32 range it definitely seems like it and I think contrary to to Olu where maybe he couldn't um you know really perform to his best abilities because of that injury at the combine or um at the prod day you know chop has really popped off completely um you know he I you know I'd say you know defensive ends I think he won the combine um there was really no one um that was kind of garnering as many kind of headlines as he was so I think that helped a lot and it's cool to see I think he was more of a borderline second round guy during the season it's cool to see you know almost every mock draft you looked at now um you know chop Robinson's in in the mid to late first kind of range um and I think that's right where he should be yeah I agree with you um and I think that that the bonafides are there it's it's just a question can he can he get the rest of the way into becoming an elite finisher um I think he can and I think um I think Penn State's defense and and some of its dominance is working against Penn State's guys and in some of these circumstances the next one we're going to talk about is Adisa Isaac um he's looking like a projected um you know late second you know maybe maybe day three pick or round three pick excuse me um he's he's kind of in that same category Seth I think he finished his career at Penn State with 14 and a half sacks obviously he dealt with injuries that that sidetracked him um do you think if that that career number was closer to 2025 he'd be more of a consensus second round maybe right there with chop Robinson threatening the first round I think he should be right now like I don't know what else a d ISAC has to prove I mean you could totally make the argument that Isaac um was a better player than chop this past season um and I mean on stats it definitely says that um I don't know if it completely tells the full story but you know diesa Isaac is ready to go you know you talk about those injury concerns you know he had the Achilles that you know kept them out of the 2021 season you know that's something that you know I asked him about at his pro day you know does that still linger do teams ask you about that and he said I honestly completely forgot that I was even injured you know it's just so far out of the picture um I really don't know what the question marks are with his game like why is he not a you know a late first early second type of guy why is he projected you know as low as round three I have no idea U because he really has all the intangibles um he's a lengthy guy he's quick um he's powerful and you know he he had as much success if not more success than chop Robinson had um over the past two seasons so I I think whoever drafted D Isaac is getting a stud um and I think he could be one of the one of the steals of the draft do you think there's possibly a lack of tape issue here with Thea ISAC because I remember you and I sitting here I think it was game five game six into the season and there were still guys that had less than a 100 snaps you know that were were regulars of Penn State's defense it wasn't they weren't getting run it was the Penn State's defense was going getting off the field yeah so efficiently against so many teams and then you know they don't it's do you think that's part of the issue is that they just didn't get enough run to a you know put up the stats that are going to get Scouts attention and B Maybe put up some of the tape that that was going to get their attention I don't know I mean like what else is a d Isa going to show though and I think it's interesting when you take that into account is like Adisa Isaac registered 16 tackles for loss seven and a half sacks great numbers this past year and Penn State Defense was constantly getting off the field you know the past two years um especially in 2022 when Penn State was just destroying teams um you know that defense was was rotating like crazy like that was Manny Diaz thing so for him to to kind of produce the numbers that he did considering he was not on the field for what 70% of the game you know I I I think I think that does good for ad diesa Isaac and some of these other guys who produced you know some great numbers at Penn State um so yeah I mean everything to me is green with ad diesa you know there's no more injury concerns his numbers are great he shows it on film um you know it's really just a matter of someone kind of kind of taking them and whether it's a good fit yeah I just I think that's context that we have that I wonder how many NFL teams and NFL Scouts have like I I think a lot of people think that they are are sometimes more learned in in these players than they are and and I think you know that's reflected when a guy like a d Isaac you know potentially comes out of nowhere and produces at the NFL level I think those are things that are going against him in this process that aren't going to go against him in his actual NFL career so it's going to be interesting to see I think he's going to land in round two um depending upon who you read it it seems a little bit marginal but um for all the reasons that that you and I outlined potentially when when the people who know football best and are paid big bucks to to scout these guys have to make the decisions um maybe maybe ad Isaac's a guy that they want to chase a little bit higher than some of the outside experts um let's get into to Theo Johnson Lance dear L's opinion seems to be that his production doesn't quite match the frame and and the potential that I think we've seen pretty much through his entire Penn State Career he's not a huge fan of his run blocking uh projects him as an average backup I know you're a big Theo Johnson fan so I wanted to kind of let you give your your Counterpoint I guess so to speak yeah average backup seems uh a little disrespectful to me you know this is a guy I definitely think could have um a good NFL career a Long NFL career and um could be a starter you know maybe early on um you know I understand if you were to look at his numbers this is a guy who's never surpassed 400 receiving yards in the season nonetheless you know he was he was a crazy part of that offense over the past two seasons um Big Red Zone threat um who like I've said before I think is really gonna Thrive at the next level more so than maybe he did in college um you know he can play with another tight end and still produce like we saw with Tyler Warren so I understand you know as a decent backup like yeah he could um but I think he can create for his own you know I think he has um some of those intangibles that maybe sets him apart as one of those like wide receiver tight end hybrids um where you can put him downfield and he's able to you know make it you know come down with a jump ball or um really make something happen that I think you know a lot of these traditional tight ends um aren't able to do you know I think he's a weapon um and if it were up to me you know I put him in the second round I see him more projected in third but I don't I don't think he should drop lower than that yeah do you think do you think Penn State's offense being kind of the mess that it was is is again one of those things that you and I know that that you wonder how did the NFL draft see these guys and how does how does that context apply to his case because um you know the passing game was a mess and and I don't I don't no one was producing in it Keandre Lambert Smith the number one receiver was not producing in it late in the season um to what degree do you think that that enters the equation here yeah it's it's funny because even 2022 where the pass game was like fine it was better um yeah I still remember asking Mike yuch like he was asked this I think every week for the first maybe five weeks of the season is when are you gonna get the tight ends involved you know it was a stacked room they had brenon strange and and Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren all in the same room and James Franklin was hyping them up the whole off season season started you know they weren't even getting targets so it was strange um to kind of see that play out and then eventually they got more and more involved and this season definitely got more involved um but still I mean it was always um it seemed like under Mike yage the tight ends were always a little underutilized uh just considering the talent they had um and the lack of talent they had at wide receiver so yeah I think that that's got to play into it and you know I I hope that you know there are scouts out there that that do understand that you know for Theo sake yeah I I think that's a big part of the equation because if you think about Pat fouth and how dominant he was in in Penn State's offense he was a second round pick and Theo Johnson was not Pat frth right you know at least in terms of of the on paper so that's it's I understand I guess is what I'm saying I think Theo Johnson can be a good player at the next level but um you didn't necessarily see it at Penn State to the degree I think a lot of us expected to and and I think that's a fair knock um but you know these guys get paid the big bucks to to possibly see see past that so I think he's going to be one of the more interesting guys to see where he lands um is it going to be higher than than a lot of the experts are thinking for reasons that we're talking about or or are the experts going to kind of uh prove to be right um a couple other guys I want to get into looks like Hunter NORAD Kaden Wallace are projecting in the uh the four to five round neighborhood does that seem right to you for those guys yeah it does no I think Hunter's done a really good job at at kind of building his I guess portfolio o over this whole process and same with Kaden too um it's interesting to see some of these guys that I think during the season were probably projected more so you know seven round to even undrafted who have not really worked their way up um you know NORAD can play every position on the offensive line and I think teams really like that um he's also found success at multiple different levels so when you see a guy who's gone from the ivy league to then the Big 10 um and find success there as a starter I think teams like that when they say well he can make another jump now to the NFL and have no trouble with that um Kan Wallace I think is a great story who you know he had struggles throughout his career obviously multi-year starter um but you know wasn't the greatest you know at times and this past season you know really just found his stride and consistency um and turned himself into I think the offensive lineman that a lot of people expected that he would be or could be you know when he was a freshman getting good minutes so um you know to see those guys in the four to five range I think that's just right I I wouldn't I wouldn't even put them in six I'm seeing Curtis Jacobs as a sixth round pick in in a lot of places um how much is that a function of of his quality as a player and how much of that is a function of middle linebacker is just not a particularly highly sought position in the NFL draft world he seems to me like a guy who could get picked in round six and play 10 years in the middle of a defense um and and that you know he could have a very solid career even if he gets picked later on um am I on The Mark with that am I off somewhere what's your read on on Curtis Jacobs and how he fits into this into this goes into yeah this goes into you know that versatility aspect that I think a lot of teams like um Curtis played every single linebacker position at Penn State um and did it well everywhere um you know this was just a guy who I don't think really flashed as much as some other linebackers that have come through like you know Abdul and Micah Parsons you know not really a highlight type of guy um but a player that is just consistent every week and I think made the people around him better um you know I I think six is honestly a little too low just considering um you know how talented I really thought he was over the past three seasons you know it's not like he just kind of popped off this year like he's been great his whole Pence day career um and honestly if it were up to me you know I'd put him in in four um you know somewhere in that range but it's looking like from mock draft that he's going to go a little lower um he also has a certain mentality that that I think is pretty unique um where he wants to be a coach when he grows up he already knows that he learned that from Manny Diaz and he views the game as if he's a coach um and I don't think a lot of people um really do that a lot of players I don't think they they really see the game that way um so he's he's constantly trying to learn um I think he's very coachable and I think he'll be able to kind of fit in at any of those three linebacker positions wherever they uh wherever they see fit is Jason kabinda a bad comparison in terms of of a guy who maybe didn't get the draft hype in the process but that you know Penn sters knew as as a solid player and found a niche at the NFL level um and has found ways to to be useful I guess the vibe out of out of college is may be similar um but cabinda is more stocky and um you know honestly could have played on the D line I think just from his build alone Jacobs is more of just a standard linebacker um that's really able to play any of those three spots and I mean cabinda obviously fullback now I don't see I don't see Curtis Jacobs having the the frame to transition to fullback at all um but yeah definitely the vibe is is somewhat similar for sure let's get into um I think the the disappointments of this process for for Penn State fans kayin King Johnny Dixon um both are are projected in that maybe late six seven range if things don't go their way I don't think it's hard to imagine either of them going undrafted um Seth what what happened and and is it especially frustrating considering that if they'd come back they would have been a you know what this team seems to lack which is proven production at corner maybe they up their draft stock a year from now if they come back yeah kayin King will be drafted um it'll probably be late but he should be taken because he does have the film um not necessarily from this season but I mean you look at last year when he was allamerican um he was one of the best corners in the country teams still look at that you know so there there's film out there that show that he's capable it's really just a matter of you know maybe he has a chip on his shoulder now and maybe he wants to you know work a little harder to get back to that um to back to what we what we knew he was capable of um you know it's really interesting you know what what exactly happened I I don't know you know this was a guy who came into the year as a projected first round pick and now we're having a discussion right now like how late is he going to be picked or is he G to be picked at all like I never could have imagined that back in August um but he'll be taken probably six seventh round maybe even five um and then Johnny Dixon another guy another opt out from the Peach Bowl um that you know you say okay maybe these guys could have benefited from coming back another year maybe kayin King could have showed that that he's still that guy from from his sophomore campaign and you know Johnny Dixon was great this year I think he just got a little screwed over um by that injury and the Senior Bowl not being able to participate in any of pre in the pre-draft process um to to show you know kind of I do have the film and I also have this that's going to boost my stock but you know like you said you know a lot of these mock drafts are having him you know seventh round are undrafted um I do think you know he has the ability to play in the NFL another defensive back I wanted to to talk through with you is dayquan Hardy um he's a guy I I think a lot of the the things that I saw are saying undrafted I think he he still should have a chance to get drafted to me Seth he's one of those guys that you you you don't take seriously until you see it and and I think we were at Ohio State and and it just popped off to us and and he was everywhere and impacting the game in major ways um I think he's one of those guys that that you call just a football player that that that knows what he's doing and and finds places to be where he needs to be and makes up for whatever limitations he has do you see him slipping in you know late in this draft and and finding a team that's that's willing to take a chance on him um and and you know even if he doesn't let's say he goes undrafted you think he still has a chance to have a solid NFL career um you know and be one of those guys who you know especially in the cornerback world they're there are guys late in these drafts that that find their way and prove themselves and get on the field rather quickly um do you see dayquon Hardy possibly being in that world absolutely you know whe whether it's that he's drafted or whether someone picks him up as an undrafted free agent um I think he has a future in the NFL um the question marks are pretty clear because he's played the nickel his whole career at Penn State you know has has rarely been put in a position um of being just a true cornerback I think the one game that we really saw him um play that role was in the peach bow which you know not not necessarily the best Resume Builder because Penn States's Corners got torched that game by by Old Miss wide receivers um but you know his ability to play the the nickel and the slot is um it's it's it's pretty remarkable and like you said with the Ohio State game you know he was everywhere it seemed like every single play you know you're hearing his name called from the PA announcer um you're seeing that 25 flying around um it also gives him the ability to maybe transition to safety if if a team you know thinks that he could potentially find success there or um you know I also think he's one of the guys that um you know he he could benefit from these new NFL quick kickoff rules um was about to ask right because I I think I mean he was great as a punt returner um he was the fastest guy on Penn State for like the past five years um and he really showed that he does have a future as a returner this past year and um you know I think with with the NFL kind of giving more um opportunity to returners um he's a guy that I think could could kind of fit in and and really um you know finds some success with that Seth any final thoughts on on this State giraffe class um you know who maybe is is going to be if you had to pick one of these guys we talked about I know you're bullish on a lot of them who do you think has the most potential to kind of be that surprise pick that um you know we sit there and go Wella he went higher than than I think we were expecting him to is it Adisa Isaac is it um is it kin King maybe how do you how do you see this unfolding yeah I mean AD diesa Isaac I mean I think he will be a day two guy um but it's I I think he could go higher in the second round than I think maybe people are projecting um I I think there's Pro I think there's got to be a scout out there who's just saying well this is like the secret weapon right here um because he's I mean he's great on film he's great in meetings um I I think he'll have you know a phenomenal NFL career maybe the most successful of any Penn State player in this draft class and maybe we'll meet again in five years and discuss that but um there are a number of guys who I think you know have the best football ahead of them I'm Theo Johnson being another one where I just think he could you know really kind of progress and and play his best brand of football not at the college level not at Penn State where they underutilize their tight ends um but yeah I think those are the two guys for me well we'll keep an eye on that Seth enjoy the final week of college we will be um on the NFL draft live stream talking about plenty of it um our Post Gazette draft live stream is going to start at 8:00 pm on Thursday and then we're going to run it back on Friday myself Christopher Carter Jason Mackey Joe starky Paul Zeiss Ray FAL and Brian backa will be calling in from the Steelers facility we're obviously going to be talking about the draft primarily through a a Steelers perspective but we're going to be talking about those Penn State prospects we're going to be talking about those pit prospects and and where they land and how they fit into this um especially as we get into day two so um if you want to hear some Penn State draft talk we're the destination for it so make sure you subscribe to the channel make sure you uh let this video If you enjoyed it help us out in the YouTube algorithm um we appreciate that so we hope to see you Thursday and Friday night feel free to sweep sweep through the comments let us know your thoughts we might read some of them on the air um Seth I'm really looking forward to it and uh enjoy your the rest of your time here at Penn State thanks Adam take care everyone thank you for checking out this content from Post Gazette sports if you watch this video on YouTube please like the video and subscribe to our channel for all of the sports coverage the post cazette has to offer 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