The Pittsburgh Steelers hope to get Troy Fautanu in the starting lineup by opening day, but they won’t push it. For the interim, the rookie is running mostly with the second-string offense, but seeing quality individual reps. Yesterday, for example, he took on none other than T.J. Watt in OL/DL drills during the Steelers’ first padded practice.
While it might be going too far to say that he won—perhaps he did. Fautanu at the very least held his own against the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. But that shouldn’t be incredibly surprising, for multiple reasons. Even Watt says the new opponent is the hardest one because you need to learn him.
That’s a point also made by Fautanu’s offensive linemate, Isaac Seumalo, when asked about the rookie’s success against Watt. “Yeah, that’s a very one-sided drill”, Seumalo cautioned, via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “He did good, but we all know who T.J. is at the end of the day. Everyone’s trying to figure out who Troy is and what kind of player he is”.
A first-round pick out of Washington, Troy Fautanu was a 31-game starter at the college level. The Steelers, however, are asking him to play right tackle after playing on the left side in college. While he has earlier experience on the right side and has practiced there, it has been an adjustment for him.
The Steelers have multiple layers of motivation to see Fautanu in the starting lineup. If he doesn’t start, then they have to leave Broderick Jones at right tackle until the rookie is ready. They drafted Jones and Fautanu in the first round over the past two years as their future starters. And they want the future now, but only if he is ready. Until then, Dan Moore Jr. sits on his perch at left tackle for the fourth consecutive year.
The Steelers have invested a lot in the offensive line in recent years, but especially the past two in the draft. They have drafted five offensive linemen during that time, including two in the first round and another in the second. They hope for all three to start this season, the other being second-round rookie Zach Frazier. In addition to Jones and Fautanu, the group also includes Spencer Anderson and Mason McCormick.
Seumalo is also part of that investment albeit on the other end, as a veteran free agent signing. The Steelers also signed Mason Cole, James Daniels, and Nate Herbig over the past three years. Daniels has been starting next to Jones but could start next to Troy Fautanu by the opener.
Thus far, the Steelers haven’t given Fautanu a ton of true first-team snaps against the first-team defense. Most of his snaps still come with the second-team offensive line, but that may change soon. If they want to give him a shot at starting the opener, they better give him time to work with Daniels and build and strengthen that connection. Given his first impression in pads, though, I can only imagine an increase in first-team reps is imminent, and soon.
