The Pittsburgh Steelers loaded up in the 2024 NFL Draft, landing offensive tackle Troy Fautanu, center Zach Frazier and interior offensive lineman Mason McCormick with three of their first five picks, solidifying the depth and improving the overall talent in the trenches as well.
Now, they could use that depth to add some additional draft capital, albeit in the form of a Dan Moore Jr. trade.
With Fautanu expected to step in as starter at either left or right tackle, and Broderick Jones set to handle the other tackle spot, Moore — who has started each of the last three seasons for the Steelers at left tackle — finds himself potentially being relegated to a depth role. Therefore, he has been speculated about as a potential trade candidate for the Steelers, or even a cut candidate.
Pro Football Network’s Dallas Robinson proposed a trade of Moore Tuesday morning, piecing together a package that would ship Moore to the Washington Commanders for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick. However, that draft pick from the Commanders would carry a condition that the pick drop to a seventh rounder if Moore played less than 40% of the snaps for Washington.
“While the Commanders will give 67th overall pick Brandon Coleman a chance to start at left tackle, they may want to bring in more depth, especially with a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels under center,” Robinson writes regarding a potential trade package featuring Dan Moore Jr. “Washington could contact the Steelers, who are overflowing with offensive line options after using three picks on OL in 2024. With Troy Fautanu and Broderick Jones — Pittsburgh’s last two first-rounders — poised to start at tackle, Moore could be on the move as he enters the final season of his rookie contract.”
When it comes to the trade talk centering on Moore, it makes some sense. He’s entering the last year of his contract, appears to be out of a starting job with Fautanu and Jones in place. He hasn’t played right tackle since training camp of his rookie season, so a potential swing tackle situation might be a slight stretch.
But calling the Steelers’ offensive line situation “overflowing” seems a bit off. For the first time in a long time, the depth chart looks very good and rather comforting for the Steelers, so trading their most experienced tackle for a late-round pick in 2025 seems ill-advised.
Losing him for next to nothing in the offseason next year wouldn’t be the best use of an asset but trading him for a 2025 late-round pick in a year in which the Steelers very clearly are aiming to contend and could really use the veteran depth in Moore behind Fautanu and Jones doesn’t seem to be the best answer, either.
If the Steelers ultimately trade Moore, they better get more than a conditional sixth. In fact, I’m comfortable sitting here today saying it should be no lower than a fourth. That is the round where Moore was drafted during the 2021 NFL Draft coming out of Texas A&M, and he has largely outplayed that slot, having started 49 career games for the Black and Gold.
