The Pittsburgh Steelers had the board break perfectly in front of them in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and the team ended up landing Washington OL Troy Fautanu at No. 20 overall. Fautanu wasn’t expected to be available with the No. 20 pick, but after six quarterbacks went ahead of the Steelers, he was one of the players who fell, and Pittsburgh picking him up was labeled a “steal” by ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
“What a steal by Pittsburgh. I wrote Thursday morning that I thought the Steelers were targeting Graham Barton to be their new center, but I didn’t think Fautanu would be available. This is a no-brainer. I had Fautanu at No. 10 and Barton at No. 19 in my rankings, and both were the top players at their position. Fautanu played left tackle in college, and I wouldn’t be shocked if the Steelers thought he could stick there and compete with Dan Moore Jr. in 2024 while they find their center somewhere else,” Kiper wrote for ESPN.com.
The Steelers are planning to keep Fautanu at tackle, although they wouldn’t say whether they want to use him on the right or left side. The thought was that the Steelers would target someone who can play on the right side to move Broderick Jones back to his natural left tackle spot, but Fautanu’s experience is primarily on the left side. He played just two snaps at right tackle during his collegiate career, so the Steelers could end up having Fautanu compete with Dan Moore Jr. on the left side and keep Jones on the right, where he played primarily as a rookie.
When a player like Fautanu falls, you take the talent and figure out the fit later. Offensive tackle was still a position of need, so it would’ve been a little bit foolish had the Steelers opted to take a player with more experience on the right side like Tyler Guyton, who was a contingency plan had Fautanu not been there. Guyton is a solid player, but Fautanu is better, so the Steelers did a good job to nab the player who was the top offensive lineman on the board.
Kiper obviously didn’t expect Fautanu to be available, which is why he had the Steelers going after Duke’s Graham Barton, who ended up being selected No. 26 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But with Fautanu on the board, the Steelers nabbed a potential top-10 talent at No. 20 overall. It was good work by Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin to wait and be patient and not entertain trading down and taking their guy, and the Steelers earned a well-deserved spot on Kiper’s winners list.
