Joe DeLeone and Ryan Roberts dive deep into the 2026 NFL Draft potential of Penn State offensive tackle Drew Shelton, one of college football’s most intriguing under-the-radar linemen. In this detailed scouting breakdown, they analyze Shelton's technique, athletic upside, and performance within Penn State’s offensive line. As Shelton emerges as a key figure for the Nittany Lions, this episode provides valuable insight into why NFL scouts are keeping a close eye on his development. Don’t miss this in-depth look at a rising 2026 NFL Draft prospect and future star in college football.
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00:00Penn State's Drew Shelton is the most underrated 2026 tackle.
00:04Find out why he could end up being the first selected come next April.
00:12Ryan, I haven't seen anyone talking about Penn State's Drew Shelton,
00:15but when I flipped on the tape, I was blown away.
00:18Why do folks need to know more about this guy?
00:22Well, I think he reminds me a whole lot of Christian Derrissaw a few years coming out, Joe.
00:25I remember before that season, I had watched Christian Derrissaw when he was at Virginia Tech,
00:30and I wrote his name down because there was a lot of athletic traits there, right?
00:34And there was a potential to be a riser, but nobody really knew a lot about him,
00:39and no one really knew that he would have that quite of an ascension
00:42and now become one of the best starting left tackles in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings.
00:46I see a lot of parallels there with Drew Shelton.
00:49The young man, I think, really has all the physical talent,
00:52both from a flexibility, foot speed, developmental upside from a physical perspective as well,
00:58from a power profile perspective.
01:00This kid kind of checks a lot of boxes that I think could make him one of the biggest risers in this class overall.
01:05Yeah, I think that the big part that really caught my attention was just seeing the movement skills,
01:10the way that he was so fluidly able to mirror.
01:13And there was one clip I pulled that I posted on Twitter
01:16where he pulls from his left tackle spot and gets to the second level in the Notre Dame game.
01:22He's picking up linebackers, defensive backs, and just kind of clearing this path for,
01:26it was either Catron Allen or Nick Singleton.
01:28He was just running over and picking up speed and able to do so so easily.
01:34That, to me, is always the starting point when we're talking about an offensive tackle
01:38that is capable of going in the top 10.
01:41The dude's got to be able to move.
01:43We can work on improving the hand placement, which does need work.
01:47We can work on improving his technique, his body placement in the run game, all of those things.
01:53But when you can sink like he can and you can also move in space the way that he can,
01:58there is so much to continue to progress towards him becoming an elite offensive tackle in the NFL.
02:06I think anybody that watches Penn State every Saturday kind of looks at some of the stuff they do
02:11just from a, they're a little bit outside the box under Andy Koltonecki, their offensive coordinator.
02:16Like, they're going to do some, like, nasty split stuff.
02:18They're going to do some stuff where they're motioning Drew Shelton across the formation
02:22and kind of letting him get kind of the early momentum for a kickout block.
02:26Like, he moves all over the place.
02:28He has a lot of different alignments to him.
02:30But I think the key thing that people miss on just some kind of that uniqueness
02:33is that they wouldn't be able to do some of that stuff if Drew Shelton wasn't a really good athlete.
02:39Like, why would you want to put him in motion and let him be able to use all over the place,
02:43utilize that versatility, if he wasn't a really athletic and diverse movement player, right?
02:49So, like, he brings that stuff to the table.
02:51But I just think overall, I actually remember him a little bit when Olu Fashanu was there, Joe,
02:55obviously a former first-round pick out of Penn State, the left tackle.
02:57When he was banged up a little bit, Shelton played a little bit.
03:00And I wrote down number 66 on my notebook because I'm a weirdo.
03:04And I just kind of tucked his name away to just, let's just watch him in a couple years.
03:08And his first year, I thought you saw monumental growth from Game 1 to the Notre Dame game of that season.
03:15I think that you really saw him start to settle into a zone.
03:17The game started slowing down for him.
03:20And overall, he's 6'5", 310 pounds, really easy mover.
03:24This is a pure offensive tackle on the next level with the movement skills he has.
03:29And I think that he is just starting to figure out how good he can be.
03:31I also think you brought up there, when Fashanu left, there was kind of this, not uneasiness,
03:39but uncertainty on who was going to be the next big lineman for this Penn State team.
03:44I wasn't expecting that somebody was going to emerge like this, and Shelton was able to do so.
03:48Just a quick highlight on his background.
03:50Coming out of Downington West in Pennsylvania in the 2022 class,
03:55he was the 122nd ranked prospect per the 247 Sports Composite,
04:01the 12th ranked offensive tackle in the class, and the 3rd prospect in the state of Pennsylvania.
04:07We just talked about Fashanu for a second, and these guys are going to be talked about side-by-side
04:12because Shelton is the guy after Fashanu.
04:15But he was actually the more highly recruited kid, Joe.
04:17And his raw tools might not be quite as high as what Olu's were,
04:21but he has just, I think, a better all-around profile in terms of,
04:25I think he's going to end up checking more boxes because I think his physical profile,
04:29combined with the movement skills, combined with the technical paralysis we saw year one
04:33to hopefully a big ascension year two as a starter,
04:35I think all those things are really going to be one of those things where eventually
04:38we're going to be looking at an offensive tackle prospect that just kind of does everything really well, right?
04:43There isn't a massive hole in his game.
04:46I'm excited to see him in year two out of Penn State because we saw year one,
04:50what it could look like under Koltenecki.
04:52I have the opinion, Joe, that this Penn State offense is going to take a huge jump from 2024 to 2025,
04:59second year under Andy Koltenecki, bringing back all that talent,
05:02and I think Drew Shelton and his ascension is going to be a big reason why.
05:05Folks, comment below who you think is the best offensive tackle in the 2026 draft.
05:11Hit that like button and subscribe.
05:12We'll talk to you later.