The Pittsburgh Steelers went back-to-back in addressing the offensive line in the 2024 NFL Draft, taking Washington OT Troy Fautanu in the first round and then West Virginia C Zach Frazier in the second round. It wouldn’t be a surprise if both cracked the starting lineup, but offensive coordinator Arthur Smith doesn’t see it as a concern to have two rookie offensive linemen. Instead, Smith sees it as an opportunity. In a press conference after the pick, Smith said he was excited about working with Fautanu and Frazier.
“I’m excited about it. I’ve been fortunate enough to coach a lot of great young players at previous stops, these guys have a lot of experience. Zach and Troy have played a lot of snaps, they’re not that green. There’s always a learning curve getting into the National Football League, and there’s a lot of guys that have been and it’ll sort itself out. But certainly appreciate the investment, and they’re all really top-end players in their own right. It’s our job to help them reach their potential and really their chemistry with the entire line and how they’ll fit,” Smith said via the Steelers YouTube channel.
Smith also said that having young guys develop together can help them grow as a unit into a better offensive line in the future.
“I think that chemistry and fit and those guys, some of those guys that grow together, you’d love everybody to play every snap and to stay healthy, but you need to develop the back end of the roster always. And the consistency, that definitely helps.”
It’s the second time ever that the Steelers have addressed the offensive line in both the first and second round, as they also did so in 2012 when they took David DeCastro in the first round and Mike Adams in the second round. While Adams didn’t work out in Pittsburgh, the hope is that both Fautanu and Frazier will develop into long-term starters as DeCastro did.
As Smith said, both of them have a lot of snaps in college with Frazier playing 2,606 snaps at center at West Virginia and Fautanu playing 2,143 snaps for Washington over the last three seasons. Frazier had the most experience starting in college of any top center in the draft.
While things are obviously going to be different going up against NFL talent on a daily basis, that level of experience at the position should hopefully aid both of them as they look to develop into solid starters. Frazier’s only real competition for the starting center job is Nate Herbig, who has 47 career snaps at center in the NFL, while Fautanu will be competing against Dan Moore Jr. for a starting tackle job. Frazier has a clearer path to starting, and the Steelers were cautious with Broderick Jones last season, but it wouldn’t shock anyone if Fautanu won the job as a rookie.
It’s good to see Smith embracing the challenge of potentially entering the season with two rookie offensive linemen starting, and I’m sure offensive line coach Pat Meyer and the rest of the staff aren’t shying away from it, either. Pittsburgh’s line could ideally turn into one of the best in football, and addressing the position in the top two rounds in the draft will surely help that become reality.
