Pittsburgh Steelers OT Dan Moore Jr. knows how hard it can be to switch sides, which is precisely the reason he is impressed with the progress rookie Troy Fautanu is making. Though he had a high school background at right tackle, Fautanu played on the left side in college. As did Broderick Jones, who moved to right tackle as a rookie last year.
Moore’s praise of Jones at right tackle last year struck a self-serving note in the hopes of preserving his job. He put down his own abilities to transition to right tackle, viewing himself as a left tackle, ultimately saying that Jones is better at it than he is. But now he’s saying the same things of Fautanu, whose progress at right tackle likely costs him his starting job.
“I think Troy is doing a really good job with his transition”, Moore said yesterday, via the team’s website. “Definitely wouldn’t compare him to me, because he looks a lot better at right tackle than I did, for sure. He has good feet. He’s got long arms. He’s got a lot of tools that’s gonna make him a really good player, for sure”.
A 2021 fourth-round draft pick, Moore has started every game in which he has played at left tackle. He held off Jones’ challenge for his starting job last year but could ultimately succumb this year. Jones cracked the lineup at right tackle by midseason and is likely to move over to the left side if Fautanu can handle the right side.
To his credit, Moore has been consistently professional throughout the past two offseasons. He has taken both Jones and Fautanu under his wing despite the threat they pose to his job security. Both young players have said as much. And he has handled the media well whenever asked about them or about his own position.
A year ago, Moore said of Broderick Jones that he “seems a lot more natural at right than I do”. He added that Jones “seems to be taking it on a lot better than I was”. And now he is offering similar praise to Troy Fautanu, the Steelers’ rookie first-round draft pick.
Both Jones and Fautanu claim that they practiced at both left and right tackle during their college careers. Moore did not, exclusively practicing at left tackle, so that is one reason they may have taken to the task better.
But the Steelers are working on finding their best combination this offseason. Accordingly, Moore has spent time practicing on both the left and right sides, and I expect that to continue. After all, if Jones and Fautanu start, the Steelers will need Moore to have some level of comfort as a swing tackle capable of playing both left and right.
Even head coach Mike Tomlin last year said of Moore that he is “significantly better” on the left side. He’s since retreated from those remarks to a degree, perhaps in deference to the reality of Moore’s imminent demotion. One thing I know is it doesn’t matter what Moore looks like at right tackle if he doesn’t have a job.
