After coming into the game on the third offensive series for the Pittsburgh Steelers Friday night in their preseason opener against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium, rookie RT Troy Fautanu had an up-and-down showing in 25 snaps.
Fautanu graded out at a 63.7 overall from Pro Football Focus. Thirteen of his snaps came on running plays while the other 12 were in pass protection. While Fautanu was charged with one sack allowed and two pressures given up, for the most part the rookie was as expected, showing off his athleticism in the run game, moving people off the spot.
In pass protection, he did have some issues with Texans DE Danielle Hunter’s speed, but who hasn’t at this point in Hunter’s career? Overall, Fautanu was fine for his first game at right tackle.
For NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter, Fautanu was average, receiving a grade of “C” for his preseason debut.
“The first-round pick showed the footwork to mirror and get vertical in his pass set, stay in contact with defenders throughout plays and move downfield to make blocks — though he didn’t always take the right angle to hit his target,” Reuter writes of Fautanu’s performance in his NFL debut. “Fautanu’s anchor against bull rushes was solid, but he did lose to a long-arm move on third down in the first quarter. He gave up a sack against Danielle Hunter’s wide-nine technique, losing the hand battle on initial contact.
“The former Washington Husky did not maintain a blocking angle on a couple of double-teams, allowing his man to get inside of him after the guard moved to the second level.”
While the sack to Hunter was a tough play for the rookie, it was a learning experience for him. He didn’t get deep enough in his pass set. He lost the initial hand battle, allowing Hunter to get by him for the sack, ending the Steelers’ drive.
The was the only sack Fautanu allowed against the Texans, and he allowed just one other pressure.
That came on the next drive that ultimately resulted in a sack, though Fautanu’s defender was not credited with the sack. Much like the Hunter rep, Fautanu was looking inside to keep that clean and then tried to get into his pass set. He overcommitted and allowed a quick inside counter for a pressure, which blew up the entire play.
Outside of that, Fautanu was steady in his first action at right tackle. He looked solid in the run game, getting on the move a couple of times to get to the second level. Helping spring Najee Harris on one run, he looked comfortable overall. The fact that he played through the knee injury and didn’t tell anyone until halftime is pretty remarkable, too.
Though he’s going to be on the shelf for the next two weeks, it appears he’s done enough to earn the starting job at right tackle, as the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported Monday afternoon. That’s a testament to the work that Fautanu has put in after switching positions and the overall talent he brings to the table.
Once he’s back healthy, Fautanu should be able to really settle into the RT job and take off, giving the Steelers a solid bookend tackle to build around moving forward.
