Who needs Brandon Aiyuk when you have Troy Fautanu? Forget about Roman Wilson or any of the Pittsburgh Steelers veteran wide outs. Go let Fautanu make some plays in space.
While Fautanu will spend his rookie year protecting his quarterbacks instead of catching passes from them, he showed off his receiver-like hands during a recent offseason workout. As posted by performance trainer Deon Hodges, Fautanu “ran” a route and finished with a nice, over-the-shoulder catch. Take a look.
The “double” move needs some work (check the comments of NFL lineman Tyrell Crosby calling it a “fat and go”) but the hands are impressive for a big guy like Fautanu. Perhaps the coordination stems from his days on the volleyball court in high school before focusing on football full-time.
Hodges is one of several trainers Steelers players have worked out with in recent weeks. According to his LinkedIn page, he trains several NFL athletes.
“He’s now a performance coach trains NFL athletes such as Jonathan Abraham (LV Raiders), Keisean Nixon (GB Packers) and Fletcher Cox (PHI Eagles), to name a few. He has become the coach NFL players from Vegas train with so they can reach an elite level, achieve success and even change position due to his “outside the box” thinking.”
Fautanu is from Nevada, making this connection a logical one. Hodges’ Instagram page also shows a clip of TE Darnell Washington, another Nevada native who played high school football against Fautanu’s team, lifting weights.
True to his bio, Troy Fautanu catching passes is definitely “outside the box.” While it sounds like a crazy thought, OC Arthur Smith might make it a reality. In his two years as Tennessee Titans coordinator, two different offensive tackles caught touchdowns. In 2019, Dennis Kelly and David Quessenberry from the end zone from 1 yard out. In 2020, the Titans threw a pass to center Aaron Brewer, who leaked out on a 3rd and 1, though the pass fell incomplete.
In the right goal-line moment, a Steelers tackle could do the same. The team has athletic options in Broderick Jones and Fautanu along with former college quarterback Dylan Cook should he make the roster. So while the above clip from Fautanu might just be summer fun, it could turn into fall’s reality.
