Olu Fashanu stepped in and provided stability for the Jets

Cross-training began in the third week of Olu Fashanu’s training camp, but it continued to keep him in the fight.

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

The 21-year-old spent a year learning under Tyron Smith before ultimately inheriting the job of guarding point guard Gang Green.

If everything goes according to plan, Fashanu won’t have to play much in 2024.

This gave him the flexibility to teach another spot on the opposite side of the line.

However, in Week 4, the Jets needed Fashanu to start at right tackle Morgan Moses suffered a knee injury.

And on Thursday during their 21-13 victory over the Texansthey needed Fashanu to play the final 37 snaps at right wing after injuries to Jake Hanson and John Simpson — as well as right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker missing a second straight game — forced the Jets to withdraw.

Fashanu has never practiced live action at right guard, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said, and Max Mitchell, who replaced Simpson at left guard, saw his first extended time in 2024 at a position where he had previously not played a single snap at regular season. .

Last season, when injury after injury forced the Jets to continually tweak their offensive line, the team ultimately collapsed.

This became a glaring weakness in a picture filled with them.

But facing their most pressing crisis so far this year, the team allowed just two sacks to the Texans and allowed Aaron Rodgers enough time to put together his best stretch of the season.

It was a review of the recent progress of a team that has allowed just six sacks in its last four games.

“‘Remarkable’ is one of the few words I can describe it,” Ulbrich said Friday of Fashan. “Here’s a guy who, you know, aside from transition reps and drills, this is his only exposure to the position. No live reps, no team reps, and to go in there and function like he did, it’s unbelievable.

When the Jets suffered an offensive loss last season, Fashanu was midway through his final season as Penn State’s left tackle, setting the stage for the final chapter of a collegiate career in which he didn’t allow a single sack.

That helped him top draft board rankings among linemen and ultimately land him on the Jets’ radar.

Perhaps more than most teams, they needed help ahead of Rodgers.

Gang Green started the game in 13 different combinations – featuring players from Billy Turner and Xavier Newman to rookie Carter Warren and mainstay Laken Tomlinson – and had the third- and sixth-worst passes and blocks, respectively, in 2023.

They allowed the fourth-fewest sacks (64), the first of which became the most significant after Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon on just his fourth offensive snap of the season.

This turned the unit into a general manager that Joe Douglas needed to upgrade in the offseason. It went to Smith, who is 33 years old and a two-time first-team All-Pro.

He made a deal with the Raven to bring Moses.

He also signed a contract with Simpson.

These were all short-term fixes intended to help the Jets in their win window with Rodgers as their signal-caller, but Douglas’ decision to draft Fashanu over skill position players reflected his move with the most long-term advantage.

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

Offseason trades can only explain so many injuries and so much confusion.

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

Then, after Thursday’s injury, Fashanu stepped in and impressed on his snaps, although he did commit a holding penalty that thwarted Rodgers’ chance for a first down in the red zone.

“It’s a testament to (offensive line coach Keith Carter) and a testament to this entire offensive line, the depth we have,” Ulbrich said Thursday. “For the guys to come in and play so well is really cool.”

This may not be permanent.

Fashanu’s success in his new position may face obstacles.

Mitchell, in his third season in the NFL, may have encountered this as well.

Ulbrich did not provide any updates on the status of Simpson and Hanson on Friday, and Vera-Tucker did not practice at all in the short week leading up to the Texas game.

But after a year of failure, the Jets’ reinforcements have shown they can, at least for now, adapt on the fly – including with the most unexpected concoctions possible – and hang on.

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Linebacker Jamien Sherwood was fined $6,354 for unnecessary roughness for using a helmet during the Week 8 game that resulted in Patriots quarterback Drake Maye being sidelined with a concussion.