Who is Commanders' undrafted rookie OL Tanoa Togiai?

Part of an annual NFL training camp is the new names you encounter each year.

Consequently, Commanders Wire has been looking at a different rookie all week, in hopes of helping the fan base better get to know some of the unknown players for the Washington Commanders. Today’s rookie is Tanoa Togiai. Yes, I realize some of you are saying, “Who in the world is Tanoa Togiai?”

Before you write off the young man. Remember Joe Jacoby, Neal Olkewicz, Mark Murphy, Jeff Bostic, and London Fletcher? Each one enjoyed a great career with the Washington Redskins while none of them were drafted. Oh, and the current Commanders have longtime punter Tress Way, who also was never drafted. So you never know which one of these undrafted rookies is going to be a huge surprise and major contributor to their team’s success.

Back to Tanoa Togiai. If you are from the Mountain West area and followed the Utah Utes to some degree, then you no doubt are familiar with offensive lineman Spencer Fano. A smaller number of you might be familiar with his O-line teammate, Caleb Lomu. Fano was drafted No. 9 overall by the Browns last April, while Lomu was selected No. 28 overall by the Patriots.

But Togiai, a guard, went undrafted. This is actually surprising when you consider his Relative Athletic Score. When a player scores a 9.55 out of 10, one would assume they were going to be drafted. Listed at 6-foot-6 and weighing 321 pounds, Togiai registered 29 reps in the bench press during his pro day. He is not a stiff brute; he can move, achieving a 10-yard split in 1.75 seconds. So the problem with Togiai not being drafted must have been his game film, correct?

Utah G Tanoa Togiai is someone that I haven’t seen on anyone’s radar, but he definitely should be. Great length and plus athleticism. The technique needs work, but the tools are absolutely there. #Utespic.twitter.com/KDJem860zc

— Benjamin Hodge ✟ (@benjaminwhodge) July 2, 2025

However, the University of Utah reports that “Togiai didn’t allow a single sack in nearly 400 pass blocking opportunities this past season.” Yet, Togiai went undrafted, and the Commanders signed him to a contract.

The Commanders have given Togiai No. 62. Togiai will be hard-pressed to make this year’s roster. Left guard is already a battle between Chris Paul and Brandon Coleman. Sam Cosmi is the starter at right guard, with Andrew Wylie and Trent Scott expected to return. But, as we saw from the list above, some very successful players in franchise history went undrafted.

Best wishes to Togiai; hope he has a productive training camp and preseason.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Who is Commanders’ undrafted rookie OL Tanoa Togiai?