Pittsburgh Steelers GM Omar Khan was getting a bit anxious Thursday night as the picks in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft slowly moved along.
“Every one of those 10 minutes was the longest 10 minutes of my life, I promise you that,” Khan stated Thursday night.
In the end, the wait was worth it as the Steelers landed Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu at No. 20 overall, making franchise history in the process by drafting an offensive lineman in the first round for the second straight year.
Though there are some questions about Fautanu’s true fit along the offensive line for the Steelers, Pittsburgh is keeping him at the tackle position and will figure it out later which side he plays on, according to head coach Mike Tomlin. They simply landed one of their top guys on the board, and a player who fits what the Steelers like from a play style and demeanor standpoint.
Due to landing Fautanu at No. 20 overall while sitting tight and letting the board come to them, the Steelers earned an “A” grade from NFL.com’s Chad Reuter Friday morning for the selection.
“Fautanu measures just 6-foot-3 3/4, 317 pounds, but he was a very effective pass protector for Washington with his 34 1/2-inch arms, natural bend and quickness. He may move inside because of his toughness and mobility in the run game, but being announced as a tackle Thursday night means he could stick outside to compete with Dan Moore,” Reuter writes.  “Fautanu’s stock may have dropped a bit due to a reported knee issue, but the Steelers smartly found value in the stud lineman, who joins last year’s first-rounder, Broderick Jones, up front to protect new quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.”
Fautanu, by all accounts, was one of the top linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft class. Fautanu was the No. 17 overall player on the consensus top 100, which put together all of the top-100 boards from across the NFL media landscape to find the consensus rankings. At No. 17 overall on the consensus top 100, he was the fifth offensive lineman, rated behind only Joe Alt, Olu Fashanu, Taliese Fuaga and JC Latham, all of whom went inside the top 15 of the draft.
The Steelers, in the end, sat tight and landed a guy they coveted.Â
Where he plays on the offensive line remains to be seen, whether that’s at left tackle, right tackle, one of the guard spots or even a move into center, even with Tomlin stating that he’s a tackle in their eyes.
Regardless of that question, there is no denying that the Steelers landed one of the top players in the draft at the position, one that they’ve had their eyes on throughout the pre-draft process.
Offensive line coach Pat Meyer attended the Washington Pro Day and put Fautanu through position drills after the Steelers reportedly met privately with Fautanu’s family ahead of the Pro Day. A few weeks later, the Steelers hosted Fautanu for a pre-draft visit on the South Side, checking some key boxes in the pre-draft process in regard to their interest in the player.
Now, he’s a Steeler and the real work begins. But based on everything that played out in front of them Thursday night, the Steelers did quite well to sit tight, let the board fall to them and then land a guy they coveted — again.
