The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Washington OL Troy Fautanu with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and it’s a pick that garnered praise from two of the marquee players in the NFL. Appearing on Bleacher Report’s draft show, Dallas Cowboys EDGE Micah Parsons and Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud both chimed in on the selection with praise for Fautanu and the selection by the Steelers.
“If you got the moving pieces, you never know who’s gonna go down, injuries happen every year, a guy that can move around the line, it’s a good help,” Parsons said. “They saw O-line help, that they needed that more, I saw that they possibly could’ve used a tandem with Joey Porter Jr. or someone to go with [George] Pickens, but this is still a really good pick.”
Stroud agreed that the Steelers could use a cornerback to pair with Porter.
“I feel like, playing against them, they need corners,” Stroud said. He mentioned that Porter was “solid” last year but said Patrick Peterson, now a free agent, was toward the end of his career and couldn’t really play man coverage anymore.
Despite feeling the team could’ve used a cornerback, Stroud’s a big fan of Fautanu.
“I like this pick, man. I think Troy has great feet and that’s something you can’t really teach,” he said. “He has natural feet, and if he can learn how to use his body weight and lean on guys and walk in and be really good with his hands, his feet will take him home.”
It doesn’t mean much, but it’s never a bad thing when two of the better players in the NFL believe the player selected is a good pick and good player. Fautanu is going to play tackle for the Steelers, and while he projects as someone who can kick inside, he doesn’t have a ton of experience at any position other than left tackle, as he’s played just 99 snaps at left guard and two at right tackle over the last three years.
Still, in a pinch, he’s someone who could move over and fill a gap due to injury, even if he’s starting at a tackle spot, which is going to be valuable for the Steelers. Especially given that the team still has Dan Moore Jr., who might be better in a smaller role other than the starting left tackle he currently is, Fautanu being able to move around if needed is definitely a plus.
There’s still plenty of time for the Steelers to address their other needs like cornerback and receiver, and it definitely seems as if they nailed their first-round pick.
