Olu Fashanu has stepped in with stability for Jets

The cross-training started during the third week of training camp for Olu Fashanu, but allowed him to still get going.

The Jets took him in the first round of April’s draft with the intention of making him their left tackle of the future.

The 21-year-old would spend a year studying behind Tyron Smith before eventually inheriting the job of protecting the Gang Green quarterback’s blind side.

If all went according to plan, Fashanu wouldn’t have to play much in 2024.

That gave him the flexibility to teach him another spot on the other end of the line.

But in Week 4, the Jets needed Fashanu to start at right tackle Morgan Moses injured his knee.

And Thursday, during their 21-13 win over the Texansthey needed Fashanu to play the final 37 snaps at right guard after injuries to Jake Hanson and John Simpson — along with starting right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker missing his second consecutive game — forced the Jets to scramble.

Fashanu had never practiced live rep at right guard, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said, and Max Mitchell, who replaced Simpson at left guard, logged his first extended time of 2024 at a position where he had not previously played a regular season shot . .

Last season, as injury after injury forced the Jets to continually adjust their offensive line, the unit ultimately imploded.

It became a glaring weakness in an offense that came with it.

But faced with their most pressing crisis yet this year, the line allowed just two sacks against the Texans and allowed plenty of time for Aaron Rodgers to orchestrate his best stretch of the season.

That was a microcosm of the unit’s recent progress, as they allowed just six sacks in their last four games.

“Remarkable is one of the few words I can give it,” Ulbrich said about Fashanu on Friday. “Here’s a guy who, you know, minus the reps and minus the practice work, that’s his only exposure to this position. No live replays, no team reps, and to go in there and perform the way he did, it’s unbelievable.

While the Jets weathered their offensive line disaster last season, Fashanu was in the midst of his final season as Penn State’s left tackle, writing the final chapter of a collegiate career in which he didn’t allow a single sack.

That helped him settle among linemen at the top of the draft boards and ultimately land on the Jets’ radar.

They, perhaps more than most teams, needed help in Rodgers’ presence.

Gang Green started 13 different combinations — featuring players from Billy Turner and Xavier Newman to rookie Carter Warren and mainstay Laken Tomlinson — and posted the third- and sixth-worst passing and blocking grades, respectively, in 2023.

They allowed the fourth-most sacks (64), with the first becoming the most consistent after Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon on just the fourth offensive wave of the season.

That turned the unit into a general manager that Joe Douglas had to upgrade during the offseason. He landed Smith, 33 years old but a two-time first-team All-Pro.

He made a deal with the Ravens to bring back Moses.

He also drew Simpson.

Those were all short-term solutions meant to help the Jets in their win-now window with Rodgers as their signal caller, but Douglas’ decision to draft Fashanu ahead of skill position players reflected his move with the most long-term upside.

However, Fashanu’s first 196 career snaps all came on the right side of the line.

Offseason trades can only cause so many injuries and so many problems.

When Moses left the Week 3 win against the Patriots, Fashanu took over and started the next two games until Moses returned.

Then, after Thursday’s injuries, Fashanu stepped in and impressed during his snaps – although he did commit a holding penalty that negated Rodgers’ battle for a first down in the red zone.

“It’s a testament to (offensive line coach Keith Carter), and it’s a testament to that whole offensive line, the depth that we have,” Ulbrich said Thursday. “The fact that the guys stepped in and played as well as they did is really cool.”

It may not be sustainable.

Fashanu’s success in a new position could hit roadblocks.

Mitchell could face that in his third NFL season, too.

Ulbrich did not provide any clarity on the status of Simpson or Hanson on Friday, and Vera-Tucker did not practice at all during the short week leading up to the game against the Texans.

But after a year-long debacle, the Jets’ reinforcements have shown that, at least for now, they can adapt on the fly — with the most unexpected concoctions possible — and hold their own.

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Linebacker Jamien Sherwood was fined $6,354 for unnecessary roughness for using his helmet on a Week 8 hit that left Patriots quarterback Drake Maye with a concussion.