The consensus around the NFL is that when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected T Troy Fautanu in the 2024 NFL Draft, they were getting a great player. The one question was going to be what side of the line he plays on, as he played left tackle in college, but the Steelers had already drafted a left tackle in Broderick Jones the previous year.
Last season, Jones flipped sides as he replaced RT Chukwuma Okorafor midway through the season. While Jones flashed at times, it was clear he was a better left tackle than right tackle when comparing his play on both sides. The Steelers seem to want Jones to just stay at left tackle after last year’s experiment at right tackle, which means Fautanu will be tasked with making the switch.
While switching may sound easy, it is not, and former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker set a goal for Troy Fautanu in his rookie year: “Hold down the fort in a new spot.”
“After slicing and dicing defensive ends for several years at left tackle for the Washington Huskies, the Pittsburgh Steelers are asking him to switch to the right side,” wrote Tucker for The 33rd Team. “At least one—and potentially several—of these position switches won’t go well. The hope in Pittsburgh is that it isn’t Fautanu. The Steelers continue to invest in their offensive line, hoping to take the next step on offense with a new coordinator in Arthur Smith and quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.”
Troy Fautanu is an athletic tackle who, in theory, should be able to make the switch. Unlike Jones, who was 22 when he took his first snaps for the Steelers, Fautanu is a little older at 23 (he will turn 24 midseason) and has more experience playing tackle, having appeared in games for the Washington Huskies from 2020-2023.
What will be interesting is that Fautanu has much more experience playing left tackle than Jones did in college. There is no perfect way to project things, but one would think that having more experience on one side would make the switch harder. However, what might make the transition easier is that Fautanu played right tackle in high school. While he did not play right tackle at all in college, Fautanu has the mechanics needed for right tackle stored in the back of his head.
If the switch works well, Pittsburgh could be in a great spot with its offensive line for the future. Jones has shown flashes, especially when he played left tackle last year, and Troy Fautanu is an athletic freak with the potential to be elite. If Jones and Fautanu work out, the Steelers won’t have to worry about their tackles for a long time, and it will help whoever the Steelers quarterback is now and in the future.
The switch for Fautanu will be hard. There will be bumps along the way that may frustrate many people, but that switch is hard. If Troy Fautanu can show he is capable of it, that will go a long way for Pittsburgh in the future. As Tucker said, all Fautanu has to do is hold down the fort. He doesn’t have to be an All-Pro in Year One.
