The day after the first round of the draft always comes with takes, and ESPN’s Brooke Pryor had a few on the Steelers that she shared on The Bill Barnwell podcast.
“I’m not surprised they went offensive lineman. That makes a ton of sense,” said Pryor. “I am surprised the position on the line they decided to address in offensive tackle…I did think there was a good chance they went with Graham Barton or just anybody that’s a center because they do not have one.”
Pryor went on to say that she hopes the team realizes that Nate Herbig, presumed starter as the roster is currently constructed, is not able to be the team’s starter day one. Barton went 26th overall to Tampa Bay but two other top centers, Zach Frazier and Jackson Powers-Johnson, slipped out of the top 32.
Pryor’s thoughts on Herbig are shared by many Steelers fans, leading several to believe their first round selection would bring a center, but with Fautanu on the board, it was just too good to pass up.
Pittsburgh has drafted first round tackles in back-to-back years. Broderick Jones, last year’s selection, seemed to have the jump on taking LT Dan Moore Jr.’s job. But Moore held onto the spot with a solid training camp and Jones shifted to right tackle after Chukwuma Okorafor fell out of favor with the team. Now, Okorafor is gone, Fautanu is in, and Moore’s time as starter may finally be up. Pryor believes that’s the way it’ll play out.
“This suggests to me that they see him moving Dan Moore Jr. out of the starting lineup,” said Pryor. “I think they end up moving Fautanu to left, bumping out Dan Moore Jr. and then Broderick Jones stays on the right.”
It is interesting that she expects the team to keep Jones at right tackle. While he started there for 11 games last season, he strictly played left tackle in college, a position he admitted he is more comfortable with.
“It just feels more natural to me”, the rookie first-round pick admitted in November, referring to playing at left tackle rather than right. “But at the end of the day, I’m just gonna do what coach wants me to do, so if they feel like [me playing on the] right is what’s gonna help my team win”.
Likewise, Fautanu has not seen many reps at right tackle, only logging two snaps at the position.
It will be interesting to see which side the two end up on at the end of the day, and who the Steelers next starter at center will be.
