The Pittsburgh Steelers made a big stride toward completing their offensive line rebuild in the 2024 NFL Draft with three of their first five picks used on the big guys up front. But how early will the rookie additions to the OL get involved? Mike Tomlin has historically been pretty cautious with rookies when possible. Zach Frazier seems more likely to start Week 1 because of the lack of an experienced alternative option. Troy Fautanu is in a different situation with Dan Moore Jr. still on the roster as a three-year starter at the position.
Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo held a Steelers chat on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Tuesday morning and was asked about Fautanu’s fit as a rookie along the offensive line.
“They didn’t use their first-round pick on Fautanu to be a backup as a rookie,” Fittipaldo wrote. “Broderick Jones started 11 games last season as a rookie. Fautanu is older than Jones and had more college experience so I’m betting he starts more than 11 games. I’d actually be surprised if he’s not the starter in Week 1, but we’ll see on that.”
Fautanu is coming out of college with 31 starts, almost all of them at left tackle. That adds an extra layer of complexity to the tackle competition as the Steelers have been pretty clear with their intention of getting Jones back on the left side at some point.
Early in OTAs, Jones has been working both sides with Fautanu playing primarily on the right. He admitted that practice has been rough so far, but that is to be expected in his first NFL practices. His transition to the right side could delay his Week 1 debut if Fautanu progresses a little slower than anticipated.
On one hand, it would be nice to get the rookies going as early as possible to help the unit jell as soon as possible. There are going to be growing pains with two rookies, so they might as well get the ball rolling. But an argument can also be made that they could hit the rookie wall for the crucial final eight games of the season in which the Steelers play all six of their divisional matchups. Fautanu is uniquely prepared for the length of the NFL schedule as he played in 15 games last season for the national champion runner-up Washington Huskies.
One thing that will be very helpful is the presence of two veteran guards. No matter which side Fautanu aligns on, he will have a solid veteran next to him to make sure they are on the same page. I don’t know if I would put my money on a Week 1 start for Fautanu, but I would be surprised if he wasn’t a permanent fixture in the starting lineup by Week 3 or 4.
