There are plenty of questions on the offensive side of the ball for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Just how quickly they can be answered is to be determined. But the Steelers are trying to gather as much information as possible through the first two days of OTAs. One of those questions involves 20th-overall pick OT Troy Fautanu.
Will Fautanu play left tackle or right tackle? He played left tackle in college at Washington. However, general manager Omar Khan said the long-term goal is to get last year’s first-round pick, Broderick Jones, back to left tackle. So the Steelers need to find out if Fautanu can switch over to the right side or if they need to keep Jones there.
“I wouldn’t say it’s easy, I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but it’s for sure different, you know what I mean?” Fautanu said after Wednesday’s OTA per video from the Steelers’ X/Twitter account. “But for me, it’s just another opportunity. For me, it’s whatever the position coach wants me to play, I’m gonna play it. I’m not gonna argue against him. He knows a lot more than I do… If he thinks I can play right, then I can play right.”
Switching positions right out of college can be tough. Then there’s the pressure as a first-round pick. On top of that, Fautanu is the top piece in the Steelers’ efforts to revitalize their offensive line this season. He headlines a rookie class that also features C Zach Frazier and G Mason McCormick. The offensive line has the potential to look a lot different in 2024.
But a big part of that is figuring out what offensive tackles can do a high-quality job on each side. Fautanu played left tackle in college, but so did Jones. Jones has experience playing at right tackle in the NFL, while Fautanu is just getting his feet wet in OTAs. That could simply mean keeping Jones at right tackle to help Fautanu get comfortable with playing in the NFL.
Yet the Steelers want to find out in a relatively low-pressure environment if Fautanu can play on the right side. Fautanu does say he’s getting more comfortable with the position as he gets practice reps at the spot, too.
“I’m comfortable playing left. I’ve played it my whole life pretty much,” Fautanu said. “But switching to right, it’s getting a little bit easier every day. It’s a lot different from last week where we were just going against air, you know what I mean? I’m just taking my footwork now, now I got guys in front of me now. But still, I’m just constantly working on it every single day, and hopefully, I get better.”
Thankfully, the Steelers do not need to know today whether Fautanu can play on the right or not. It’s only May. However, each rep that Fautanu gets at this stage will only help once training camp and preseason roll around. Offensive line coach Pat Meyer can work with Fautanu to help correct any technical problems from the switch in a less stressful environment.
What is certain is that the Steelers have some talented, athletic offensive tackles in Fautanu and Jones moving forward. That’s a great thing.
