The Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is underway, though the pads and full contact will not come until Tuesday once the ramp-up period is complete. One of the top competitions to watch throughout camp will be at offensive tackle. The team wants to move Broderick Jones back to the left side after he spent most of his rookie season on the right, but rookie OT Troy Fautanu will have to prove he is a better right tackle than Dan Moore Jr. is a left tackle before they make the switch.
To open up training camp on Thursday, Fautanu was mostly working with the second-team offense, keeping last year’s configuration intact for now. During seven shots today, a drill where the offense and defense compete on seven goal-to-go snaps, Fautanu actually got a first-team rep, per TribLive’s Joe Rutter on X.
When Fautanu was inserted as the first-team right tackle, Jones moved over to the left.
This is just one rep during one of the opening practices, but it is good to see the Steelers getting him some reps against top competition. It is important to note that the pads have not come on yet, so the amount of contact that is permissible is far from full tilt. Still, these will be valuable reps for the rookie and for the decision-makers evaluating the competition.
When players reported to training camp, Fautanu was interviewed and expressed the difficulty of switching from the left side to the right. He played primarily on the left in college at the University of Washington. Jones was showing him the ropes at right tackle after practice yesterday, having just gone through that transition last year.
Getting some first-team reps on the second day of camp is a good sign. Will things continue to trend in that direction? That will depend on the performance of Fautanu, but sooner than later, he will be the guy at right tackle.
