If the Steelers plan to start rookie Troy Fautanu in the season opener, you won’t hear it from him. The first-round pick has spent all offseason working at right tackle. Despite injuring his MCL in the first preseason game, the team feels he will be ready for Week 1. But will he be ready as a starter or as a backup?
“My expectation is to do whatever role is given to me”, Fautanu told reporters on Tuesday, via the team’s website, when asked if he had the expectation that he will be starting once he is healthy. “I can’t give you an answer on that. I’ll let Coach Pat [Meyer] and Coach Isaac [Williams] take care of that. I’m just making sure I’m prepared for whatever opportunity comes”.
Meyer and Williams are the Steelers’ offensive line coaches, but head coach Mike Tomlin ultimately determines the hierarchy. If he says that Fautanu will start, and the doctors say he can, then he is going to start.
The 20th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Washington, Troy Fautanu has ample starting experience. He played left tackle throughout college, however, so he has spent the offseason transitioning to the right side.
Fautanu is the second offensive tackle the Steelers drafted in the first round in as many years. In 2023, they traded up to 14th overall for Broderick Jones, who didn’t start until midseason. Also a college left tackle, he moved to right tackle, but the Steelers want to move him back over.
If the Steelers do start Fautanu, then Jones will obviously move to the left side—assuming he is starting. But that’s a topic for other articles, the focus here being on whether Fautanu is already a starter or not. Most players, of course, will evade directly answering this question, though not in all cases.
Fautanu suffered a sprained MCL in the first quarter of the first preseason game but played through the second quarter. He has been sidelined since then, but he should be ready to play for the regular season. The only question is if the Steelers feel he will be ready after missing valuable practice and preseason games.
“I’m preparing like I’m playing this week”, Fautanu said about his mindset entering the final preseason game. He will not actually be playing in that game, of course, due to the knee injury. “I’m writing down who I’m going against, what their moves are, the defenses, the keys the coaches are telling me. I’m writing every single thing down”.
All he can do at this stage is to prepare mentally, so that is what he is doing. But it shouldn’t be too much longer before he is back on the practice field, one hopes. When he does return, will he be working with the first-team offensive line at right tackle? For now, Broderick Jones is still playing there with Dan Moore Jr. on the left.
