The Pittsburgh Steelers obviously love Troy Fautanu, but we don’t know quite how much. One report indicated that they already intend to insert him into the starting lineup when he returns from injury. What the Steelers are doing on the practice field, however, don’t seem to be indicating that.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talked about the “trajectory” Fautanu is on, even after a shaky preseason debut. But they have watched him all summer, carefully monitoring his technique. They know who he is, and that isn’t just one preseason game. Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl spoke highly of him on Thursday via the team’s website.
“We saw a lot of good things from both of them”, Weidl said, referring to both Troy Fautanu and Roman Wilson, two rookie draft picks dealing with injuries, via the team’s website. “They’re both arrow-up guys. I think with Troy, we saw the physicality, the range, the toughness, the explosive power, the ability to displace people in the line of scrimmage, ability to pass protect”.
A first-round pick out of Washington, Fautanu enters the NFL with a great deal of college experience. The only problem is he gained that experience playing left tackle while the Steelers moved him to right. He admitted to some difficulty making that adjustment early on, and I’m sure it is still a work in progress. But he has already shown great progress, with coaches, teammates, and reporters raving about his technique. That is especially evident working against the Steelers’ outside linebackers, Weidl notes.
“Going up against we think we have three of the best edge rushers in the league in our outside linebacker room, he’s done well against them”, he said of Fautanu, then referencing his knee injury. “This is a small hiccup in the road, as we say. It’s a long journey. It’s a long season”.
Troy Fautanu logged a couple dozen snaps in his first preseason game, injuring his knee about halfway through, apparently. The Steelers did not even know about his injury, they said, until he asked for a knee brace at halftime. He simply played through it undetectably, which also won him additional favor.
“Those guys are working hard to get back out there, and we’ve got a long way to go”, Weidl said of both Fautanu and Wilson, the latter of whom reportedly could play in the final preseason game. “We’re fortunate. It’s not long-term deals with either guy, so they’ll get back out there knowing them and their football character and their makeup. They’ll be ready to go sooner than later”.
But the unanswered question is, does “sooner” mean the regular season opener for Troy Fautanu? Will he begin his career as a starter or as a backup? And how much does that have to do with his injury? Even if their actions don’t always show it, their words indicate their opinion of Fautanu’s capability in the present tense.
