With training camp just around the corner, it’s time to turn our focus to what is going on within each position, and on the roster as a whole. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be taking a closer look at some of the roster battles that we expect to see unfold over the course of training camp as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the start of the 2024 season.
This year will see more competition than usual, and at some major parts of the roster. Topping the list is the quarterback position, though there is vigorous debate about that competition’s legitimacy. Beyond that, there is some unfinished business at wide receiver, cornerback, and the offensive line. And there are plenty of roster spots to settle beyond the starting lineup, some of which could result in trades.
Position: Right Tackle
Up for Grabs: Starting Job
In the Mix: Troy Fautanu, Dan Moore Jr., Broderick Jones
The Steelers are not exactly having an open competition at right tackle during training camp, but there is a competition. The subject of an incumbent is murky, as well, because of who that is. Broderick Jones started there in the second half of last season, but they want him at left tackle this year.
Because of that, the Steelers hope rookie first-round pick Troy Fautanu can take over the job. Failing that, perhaps they hope that Dan Moore Jr. can successfully convert from left tackle to right tackle. Moore has been a left tackle his entire career, but the Steelers drafted Jones to play there.
Yet we don’t even know if the Steelers have any intention of giving Moore an opportunity to practice there in training camp, let alone start there. He has struggled to adjust to playing on that side in the past, so they may reject that option. The alternative if Fautanu is not ready is to start Moore on the left side and leave Jones on the right, which is how they ended the 2023 season.
While Fautanu was a college left tackle, he does have some high school experience on the right side. He is also significantly more experienced at the college level than Jones was last year. The Steelers traded up to 14 from 17 to get him, but for Fautanu, they sat at 20 and let him fall.
That is largely, or at least partly, because the Steelers had a lot more options. Last year, they fixated on getting a left tackle and the top options were slipping away. They had a more open board in 2024 and could have gone in a number of directions at 20.
In a way, that is just as reassuring that they took Fautanu, because they could have chosen somebody else. They could have drafted Graham Barton, for example, or Nate Wiggins. But they liked Fautanu so much that they decided he was the most valuable possibility at 20.
Even with that in mind, he still has to prove that he can start right away. And the Steelers moving him to right tackle ahead of training camp won’t make it easier for him to be in the lineup on opening day.
