The 2024 NFL Draft class was unique in this sense. It was one of the oldest and senior-heavy groups of recent memory, a record-low number of underclassmen and the final year of COVID exceptions that produced a batch of sixth-year players. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ selections, normally skewed towards juniors in the early rounds, reflected the shift in the overall group. Their selections were upperclassmen and on the “older” side in a world where 24 feels ancient. First-round pick OT Troy Fautanu fit that bill, a senior with 41 starts who turns 24 in October. The upside to that is an experienced and mature player, eager to learn everything about his new team.
That was the impression former Steelers QB and current analyst Charlie Batch had while getting to know Fautanu this offseason.
“Being able to spend time with Troy is awesome,” Batch said on a Steelers’ preview show aired on KDKA. “To hear Mike Tomlin talk about his athleticism, but this guy wanted to understand the history of what it meant to be a Steeler. Any alumni who came in, he wanted to have that conversation. This guy is ready to work. He was expecting to be a Day One starter and he’s preparing that way.”
Appreciating the Steelers’ history of smash mouth football is one way to return to that style of play.
Troy Fautanu is an athletic, first-round tackle just like 2023 selection Broderick Jones. But Fautanu is older and more refined with more experience. That makes him someone with a quicker path to work his way into the starting lineup after Jones had to wait until mid-season and was only inserted after Chukwuma Okorafor landed in Mike Tomlin’s dog house. Fautanu will battle for the starting right tackle spot, potentially splitting reps with Dan Moore Jr.
“Man, if he can get out there and solidify that offensive line, it’s going to be an exciting season,” Batch said.
Pittsburgh’s offensive line looks far different compared to 2021. Should Fautanu beat Moore out for a starting job, the team won’t have anyone starting from the 2021 unit and only one player – RG James Daniels – from the 2022 group. Given how shaky the line play has been in recent years, that’s a good thing.
The organization’s vision of playing “bully ball” now matches the personnel they’ve put on the field to get it done. Fautanu, on paper, fits that as an athletic mauler who brings intensity on the field and curiosity off it.
