The post-draft buzz brought hype and promise for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line. But a week away from the regular season, hype and promise have turned to concern. One of the biggest questions entering Week One is who will be the Steelers’ starting tackles.
If preseason play has anything to do with it, LT Dan Moore Jr. is the only person who should feel safe. Although Moore has struggled in the regular season throughout his NFL career, an average tackle at best, he’s also been Pittsburgh’s best and most consistent tackle this offseason. Even with Moore’s strong play, the goal was to start 2023 first-round draft pick Broderick Jones at left tackle and 2024 first-round pick Troy Fautanu at right tackle.
However, this plan hit a stumbling block when Fautanu suffered an MCL sprain in the Steelers’ first preseason game. Then Jones, who played most of last year at right tackle, had an absolutely horrific showing in the second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, creating more questions than answers.
Even if Fautanu stayed healthy all year, he took his lumps in his debut against the Houston Texans, though he’s flipped from being a college left tackle to an NFL right tackle. Weighing in on the state of the Steelers’ line, ESPN beat writer Brooke Pryor thinks Fautanu will eventually be fine at right tackle. However, as she noted on The Kevin Karius Show, the Fautanu injury is delaying the development of the entire offensive line.
“I think that he will be ok, but the knee sprain that he had in the first preseason game, I think, is really delaying his development,” Pryor told the show. “It looks like Broderick Jones will start at right tackle. Dan Moore on the left side. Which then kind of delays the development of the entire offensive line because the team has been pretty vocal in saying they want to move Broderick Jones to left tackle at some point, but that point keeps getting kicked down the road with Fautanu not being able to play right now. Broderick Jones is a natural left tackle. He is not as good at right tackle.
“I think that Fautanu will be better at right tackle, but he hasn’t gotten in there to learn. He’s taken a lot of mental reps, but at some point, you have to get out there, and you have to do it. So now, he’s going to have to get out there and do it when it counts, and I think there’s going to be a learning curve.”
The ideal Steelers offensive line in a few years is likely: Broderick Jones-Isaac Seumalo-Zach Frazier-Mason McCormick-Troy Fautanu. However, Jones isn’t getting reps at his natural left tackle position. While he has swapped in at left tackle at times during training camp, the majority of his reps, and most importantly his game reps, have come at right tackle. If he sticks there all season, flipping back to left tackle could create another adjustment.
Jones, of course, will have to show that he can hold up at right tackle. His performance in the finale against Detroit was better, but playing hurt, he looks uncomfortable on the field. Still, with Fautanu’s missed time, the most logical way to enter 2024 is to stick with how 2023 ended, with Moore on the left and Jones on the right.
Pittsburgh has a brutal schedule, and they have to stack wins early, as the back half of their schedule is comically hard. This puts Pittsburgh in a dilemma—should they throw Fautanu to the wolves or keep Jones in a position he’s not suited for long-term?
With a revolving door of injuries, offensive line chemistry may also be an issue. If Troy Fautanu starts in Week 4, for example, the rest of the line will have to learn to play with him. RG James Daniels will have to learn to play with a new right tackle, and if Jones swaps over to left tackle, whoever is playing left guard at that time due to Seumalo’s injury would have to learn to play with Jones next to him instead of Moore.
Despite the question marks right now, the future of the Steelers offensive line still looks bright. Troy Fautanu can become a great player once he learns right tackle, Frazier looks like he is going to be a really good center, Seumalo is consistently good, and McCormick has shown potential. Jones, at this point, is a question mark, but overall, there’s still promise. But Pittsburgh can’t bank on the future. They have to win now, which means getting healthy and producing.
