While all eyes are on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback position, their offensive line should be addressed this offseason as well. The Steelers need a center and could really use an upgrade at the tackle spot. That could be moving Broderick Jones back to his natural left tackle position and adding a right tackle. Or it could be keeping Jones at right tackle where he was the majority of 2023 and adding a left tackle. If the Steelers go the second route, Washington’s Troy Fautanu could be an option.
That’s what Tom Fornelli of CBSSports.com projects in his latest mock draft. Fautanu was the sixth offensive tackle off the board by the 20th pick in Fornelli’s mock. Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu went just before Fautanu at 19 to the L.A. Rams. Tyler Guyton of Oklahoma was the seventh tackle off the board and was taken by the Miami Dolphins right after the Steelers picked Fautanu.
“I’ve seen Pittsburgh take Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson here a lot, and that’s certainly possible,” Fornelli wrote. “However, this class is much deeper at center than most realized, which was evident at the Combine. So, in this mock, I have the Steelers addressing the tackle position and possibly using their second-rounder on a center. Oh, and they’ve also signed Russell Wilson. Maybe.”
That’s a lot of talk from Fornelli without not saying a lot about Fautanu. However, it’s easy to understand why Fornelli would mock Fautanu at that point to the Steelers. As he said, there’s probably a good chance the Steelers could get a quality center in the second round. However, with five offensive tackles already off the board, Pittsburgh could very well want to ensure it gets a premium talent to help shore up the tackle spot.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Fautanu checked in at 6-4 and 317 pounds with 34 1/2-inch arms. One of the concerns about Fautanu is that he might not have the prerequisite length to play offensive tackle in the NFL. Regardless of where you fall on the threshold for NFL offensive tackles, 34 1/2 inches should be fine at the next level.
Fautanu also could be a versatile offensive lineman for the Steelers. Ross McCorkle scouted him for Steelers Depot and highlighted the parts of his physical attributes and skill set that could allow him to play in different spots across the line.
“Fautanu has the athleticism and footwork to be an effective tackle, but his length could be an issue against bigger and lengthier defensive linemen. His arm-length measurements at the Senior Bowl and Scouting Combine will be important to watch when it comes to his positional fit at the NFL level. His athleticism, footwork, and use of hands are good enough for Fautanu to be an NFL tackle while his ability to pull and block second-level defenders in space suggest he could be a successful guard. In a strong tackle class this year, Fautanu is among the best and figures to land somewhere in the late first or early second round. If teams view him as a guard, he could slide a little further. He is this year’s Peter Skoronski where teams could view him either way. Skoronski, for what it’s worth, ended up playing guard his rookie season.”
Could Fautanu be a bit of a reach here at 20? Perhaps, but with the way the Fornelli’s board shaped up, the move makes sense. Then when you look at how Fautanu stacks up with his athletic testing to Arthur Smith’s average starting offensive tackles, the move fits. When we looked at the Relative Athletic Scores for Smith’s offensive tackles during his time with the Tennessee Titans and the Atlanta Falcons, the average score was 9.64 out of 10. Fautanu’s score was 9.45, just a bit under but still quite close. Interestingly, the only issue Fautanu had was his size, specifically his height. Otherwise, he was elite comparatively when it came to his explosive and speed metrics.
