Is there a way we can keep Fautanu around until 2026? If he clears waivers I see no way he makes an entire 18 week schedule without being claimed if he is on the practice squad. He would be great to have in 2026 when Glasgow is gone.
Kingsley passed through waivers and spent an entire season on the practice squad and nobody wanted him. I just see Fautanu as a much better prospect and I am surprised he wasn’t drafted. I guess since he went undrafted my evaluation of Fautanu might just be too high.
No one wanted to add him to the active roster, that’s a bit different. If a center goes down teams don’t usually trawl other practice squad rosters for a replacement the way they do at other positions. Either it’s a guy from their own team who’s been in the system already or a vet.
Both Kingsley and Fautanu were on my crush lists the year they came out, I really like them both, but they’re essentially opposites. Kingsley the much better athlete who - I believe - can hold up physically, Fautanu the power guy (with long arms and giant hands) who - I believe - can hold up athletically. Knowing your preferences it’s no surprise you prefer Fautanu, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we were able to stash him on the practice squad the entire year.
I agree with everything you said there. The one difference is I think other teams could keep Fautanu on their roster thinking he could also hold up at OG while he learns their system. I think this would make hiim more susceptable to being claimed.
See I think at 6’1.5, 298 (where he weighed in at the big 12 combine, despite what’s listed above) he’s pretty much center only. He’s abnormally strong for his size - that Pacific Islander man-strength - but he’s a pretty small guy overall. His unusual length for his size might come into play, but he’s never played anywhere other than center.
Kingsley, on the other hand, got most of his preseason snaps for us last year as a G. I have no idea why that was or if it says anything about our long-term plans, but if you were another team looking to raid a PS for OGs, he had at least put it on tape in a professional uniform.
We’ll see, but I believe Kingsley had more league-wide pedigree coming into the draft (which is why we had to give him a decent-sized UDFA bonus to get him to come here - whereas Fautanu didn’t get one), so I think he would be the more likely of the two to get claimed. I mean, it was hard to find any love for Fautanu pre-draft which really surprised me. Even in the Beast he was in the others receiving votes section, and pretty far down too. It was absurd how little love he got, I thought.
I saw that! Very interesting connection there. Pretty low sample size though, I think he hit the exact number of routes needed to qualify (10 I believe?). Still promising.
I’d love to find a way for all of JKJ, Meeks and Lovett to make the team, I think they all could be big contributors in all the “little things” areas of the game. Like Leaf. Of course that’s impossible - there’s maybe only room for one on the active roster - but if we can hang on to all three into next year (when Leaf and Patrick could be gone) things get more interesting.
I know. I want them all. Colton Poucey said the beat writers were comparing Lovett to Jamaal Williams after his presser, so of course I want him to stay. Meeks may have maximized his minimal tools already. JKJ hasn’t.
I think Meeks will definitely be the best blocker of the three. Part of that is just his sheer size, but I also think it’s pretty much his best trait.
But he also has the Marvin Jones ability to high point the ball, which apparently he already showed on his first day or practice. And don’t forget while he doesn’t have great straight-line speed, he ran a great 3-cone for his size (6.79), he should be able to snap off his routes and separate down the field just fine. Maybe for some in-breakers?
I also think he might be the best option on the roster right now to block FGs and XPs flying around the edge.
