Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers might’ve stolen tackle Broderick Jones away from the New York Jets. This year, they might’ve done it to the Philadelphia Eagles. According to Sports Ilustrated’s John McMullen, the Eagles had hopes of landing Washington OL Troy Fautanu with the 22nd selection.
“Per McMullen’s source, the Eagles were particularly interested in Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham, who went No. 7 overall to the Tennessee Titans, and Washington offensive guard Troy Fautanu, who went to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 20. The Eagles didn’t have to trade up before snagging Mitchell a few picks later.”
Fautanu fell further than expected in the draft. Considered by most to be a top 10-15 selection, he fell into the Steelers’ laps at pick 20. A deep quarterback class combined with Fautanu’s uncertain NFL position, a lack of height having some believe he would kick inside, caused him to drop in the first round.
It’s not clear if the Eagles would’ve planned to play Fautanu at guard or tackle. Perhaps he would’ve kicked inside for them, a move he was set against, if the team shuffled guard Landon Dickerson to center to help replace the retired Jason Kelce. Of course, given their interest in Latham, more of a “true” tackle, the Eagles might’ve thought about a succession plan for the 34-year old Lane Johnson.
Last season, Pittsburgh traded up three spots to draft Broderick Jones, jumping the New York Jets, a team many thought would draft Jones if he was there. This time, the Steelers stayed at their spot and drafted someone who appears to have been the seventh-best player on their board.
While the Eagles missed out on Fautanu, they still drafted a solid player in Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell. He also suffered a first-round drop and was the first cornerback off the board. Like Pittsburgh did with the offensive line, Philadelphia loaded up on the secondary at the top of its draft, trading up for Iowa DB Cooper DeJean in the second round. The Eagles drafted two offensive linemen late in the draft, taking Michigan OG Trevor Keegan in the fifth round and NC State C Dylan McMahon, who we compared to Jason Kelce in our scouting report, in the sixth.
