Another week, another great debut for one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie offensive linemen. Zach Frazier set the bar very high in Week 1 with his countless pancake blocks. First-round OT Troy Fautanu didn’t quite have that type of performance in Denver, but it was still very strong, especially in contrast to Broderick Jones’ recent outings at right tackle.
Going back to the preseason, there were reports that the Steelers already viewed Fautanu as their starting right tackle. Admittedly, I wasn’t fully bought into that idea after his preseason debut. It wasn’t awful, but Fautanu looked pretty rough around the edges against the Houston Texans before exiting the game with a knee injury.
After watching his regular-season debut, it all makes sense.
Fautanu started the game but was in a rotation with Broderick Jones. That only lasted one series as Jones had three penalties to destroy an otherwise impressive drive before getting pulled from the game.
With how well Fautanu played, I am not so sure Jones will be given another opportunity on the right side as long as Fautanu stays healthy.
Fautanu played 55 of the Steelers’ 66 snaps on offense. Pro Football Focus gave him a 64.4 overall grade, including a 59.3 run-block grade and a 69.3 pass-block grade. He allowed two pressures and zero sacks. I wrote about how he would have his hands full with Jonathon Cooper before the game, and he handled that challenge very well.
Let’s dive into the tape.
One thing I have been harping on Jones for is his lack of technique with his punch timing and placement. His hands are often too wide and too late. Fautanu showed that is not an issue with him in Week 2. The below plays show great punch timing to slow down Cooper’s attack, allowing Fautanu to anchor and stay in control.
It wasn’t all perfect. On one of the first passing plays of the game, Fautanu didn’t time his punch correctly and Cooper went speed to power on him. He got pushed back into the pocket, forcing Justin Fields to scramble.
Fautanu also showed off his athletic ability. Sometimes edge rushers are going to align wide-9 and try to win with speed or counter back inside. Here, Fautanu shows great footwork to close the gap between him and Cooper, and he pushes him up the arc and out of the play.
This play was probably my favorite of the game for Fautanu. He initially gives up his chest and gets pushed back with his arms too wide on the punch, but he works his hands back inside to re-anchor and take back control of the play.
Fautanu was solid as a run blocker, too. His punch placement and leg drive helped him create space for Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren to run through. On this play, Fautanu gets both hands locked in on DL Jordan Jackson’s chest plate and torques him out of the hole to create a nice rushing lane.
On one of the first plays of the game, Fautanu and James Daniels teamed up for a pancake block. Fautanu latched on with his hands and created a ton of power with his constant leg drive to displace the defender five yards off the line of scrimmage.
There were very few plays in this game where Fautanu was soundly beaten. If he lost, he figured out ways to lose slowly to allow the play to still function. Cooper was one of the most disruptive edge defenders in all of football in Week 1, and he was held to zero tackles for loss, zero QB hits, and just two pressures.
Fautanu should be the full-time starter from here on out. Hopefully the Steelers will have Broderick Jones practicing on the left side for the rest of the season so he can start trying to win the left tackle job from Dan Moore Jr. at some point.
