When a team drafts a player to replace a starter, usually that starter isn’t very happy. More often than not, they’re distant with the rookie, seeing them as competition and working to prove the team made a mistake by drafting them. This can most often be seen when a team drafts a quarterback in the first round to replace an aging star. With the Steelers drafting Troy Fautanu in the first round, it would be easy to assume that the man who he could replace, Dan Moore Jr., would want nothing to do with him. That is, in fact, not true at all and shows once again why you should never assume.
Speaking to the media after the second day of OTAs today, Fautanu was asked about who along the offensive line was helping him improve, and the first person he named was Moore.
”Everybody. I mean, I was just out there, talked to Dan for like 30 minutes, and he’s just explaining to me not only technique stuff, but mindset stuff. When you’re going against certain D-ends and just playing football. These guys are very helpful,” Fautanu said via the Steelers Live Twitter page. “I still gotta do some rookie things by filling up their refrigerator and stuff like that, but they’re not just shucking me aside and telling me to figure yourself. These guys have all great advice because they’ve been in the league for a while. And all the guys in here, they’re awesome.”
Say what you will about Moore’s ability on the field, but he’s been nothing but a professional with the Steelers. The team has drafted not one but two players at his position in the first round the past two years, and yet, he hasn’t whined or complained or demanded a trade. Instead, he’s actively working with those players to help them get better, imparting valuable wisdom onto them. If Moore is on the roster this season, he might be much better served in this role as almost another coach for the young offensive linemen.
The Steelers seem to be interested in running the ball more effectively this year, so they’ll need their young linemen like Fautanu to catch up to speed quickly. Fortunately, it seems that he’s already adjusting to the speed of the game, and part of that has to be because of the help of Moore and the other veteran linemen. The best offensive line units the Steelers have had have been like a brotherhood, with the group that protected Ben Roethlisberger in the mid to late 2010s being a shining example of that.
If Fautanu can absorb all the information he’s receiving, then the Steelers will be in a much better place come the start of the season. Just as well, the Steelers have other rookie offensive linemen on the team in Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick, so this kind of camaraderie is important. Whether it’s Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, or someone else, the quarterback of the future will be thankful for the work all of the offensive linemen are putting in.
