A debut is just a starting point of an NFL career, not the end. But for Pittsburgh Steelers rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu, he’ll need better outings going forward to gain a starting spot and prove he was worth the team’s investment in him. Former and longtime NFL defensive lineman Chris Long offered his take on Fautanu’s performance Friday against the Houston Texans, one that came with more critique than praise.
“Fautanu, just Week 1, he showed me he’s got some work to do,” Long said on his Green Light podcast. “He’s kind of, his feet are in the air when when he makes contact. His feet and his hands are not tied together. He kind of strikes high. And if you watch him, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”
Fautanu had his hands full in his Steelers debut, facing top-tier pass rusher Danielle Hunter screaming off the edge on third down of his first drive. Fautanu got beat around the edge and gave up the sack.
A later rep where Fautanu didn’t allow pressure better illustrates the point. On this pass, as Long discusses, Fautanu is leaving his feet on his punch and his hands are high, causing him to lose some ground as the LDE converts speed to power. He’s able to stall out the rush and the ball gets out but technically, Fautanu can clean things up.
Long believes Fautanu was at his best when he could be the aggressor.
“He looks like he’s a better jump setter right now than a guy sitting back and waiting. If he sits back and waits, his punch is not tied in with his hands. And right now, he’s going to get bowled a lot. He’s going to miss inside,” Long said. “Honestly, the jump sets [were] where he looked the most comfortable. Because if he can get his hands on you right now, he plays from a better base. But if he’s sitting back waiting right now, he’s just not tying his set together.”
Fautanu gave up pressure that led to another sack later in the game, struggling against this power inside rush.
Some of the issues seemed to be with Fautanu’s shorter set. In the above clip and on the sack he allowed, he had a defensive tackle shaded on him in the Texans’ Wide 9 front. That caused Fautanu to use a vertical set with a backside drag hand to protect the B gap instead of being able to get depth and width to handle the wide rusher. That certainly was an issue versus Hunter, a player who gives tackles little margin for error.
Under o-line coach Pat Meyer, tackles can jump or quick set, what Meyer calls a “chasedown” block. But that is permitted when the tackle and end are isolated without the threat of a twist or stunt that comes with a tackle over Fautanu. Here’s an example of Broderick Jones using it in-game from his left tackle spot. Unthreatened by the 2i shaded away from him, Jones attacks, gets his hands on the RDE, and wins the rep.
Coming out of Washington, one positive of Fautanu’s game was the ability to vary and mix up his sets, a point T.J. Watt made after facing him in training camp. But it’s clear he needs to work on refining his set at the NFL level where any issue with punch or set could produce disastrous results. Of course, Long isn’t sounding the alarm long-term on Fautanu and is simply stating where the first-round pick is currently. Based on the tape, it’s a fair assessment.
Fautanu will have to wait to improve his game. He suffered a mid-game MCL sprain that will keep him out for Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills and potentially the finale versus the Detroit Lions. Despite the injury and struggles, Pittsburgh still seems poised to start Fautanu Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, where his game will hopefully be more refined.
“This is a guy who could use the reps and now he’s going to be missing reps for a couple of weeks,” Long said.
Our Ross McCorkle will have a complete breakdown of Fautanu’s debut later today, which will also include a better showing as a run blocker than he fared in pass protection.
