Everything seems to be trending in the direction of rookie OT Troy Fautanu’s making his NFL regular-season debut Sunday in Denver. That is probably the right call given Broderick Jones’ recent struggles, and reports during training camp that the Steelers wanted Fautanu on the field as soon as possible. But there is no guarantee Fautanu makes them right with that decision in Week 2.
In fact, he is going to have a heck of a test ahead of him if he does end up starting. That test is Denver Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper.
In Week 1, Cooper lined up on the left side of the defense for all 47 of his snaps. He posted a ridiculously good stat line of six total tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, four QB hits, and seven total pressures. Granted, the majority of those reps came against 2021 sixth-round pick Stone Forsythe after George Fant exited the game with an injury after 10 snaps. But Fautanu will be making his first NFL start if he indeed gets the nod at right tackle.
There is optimism, especially given the buzz surrounding Fautanu, that he will be an upgrade over what Broderick Jones has given so far, but that isn’t a given. Fautanu had struggles of his own in the preseason.
In 25 preseason snaps, Fautanu allowed one sack and two total pressures. He looked better against the run, but as a pass blocker he had a lot of the same issues as Jones. His punch timing and placement weren’t great, and he was giving up his chest too often. Below is an example of giving up his chest and having no ability to anchor when he gets himself in that position.
Having written his scouting report leading up to the draft, those weren’t issues that I saw very often in college. It could just be Fautanu adjusting to the speed and power of NFL edge defenders, but I opined in a preseason film room that he may be having issues adjusting to life at right tackle. He played the vast majority of his college snaps on the left side.
Based on the below play, one of Cooper’s two sacks against the Seahawks, he is going to be testing Fautanu in the exact way he struggled in the preseason. Here, he converted speed to power and bull rushed the tackle back before breaking inside for an easy (and very fast) sack.
Here’s to hoping Troy Fautanu can have a similar debut to his 2024 draft classmate, Zach Frazier.
