Week 2 was the first bit of action for Troy Fautanu, and he seemed worth the first-round pick the Pittsburgh Steelers spent on him. It was an odd NFL debut for him, with the Steelers trying to rotate him and Broderick Jones at right tackle. After Jones had a brutal series, it was all Fautanu. He looked good, and it sounds like he felt comfortable on the field, too.
“I felt great,” Fautanu said, per Amanda Godsey on Twitter. “It was surreal, but I had to lock in the game. It went well. The elevation for sure was there, it was noticeable, but we came out with a win, that’s all that matters.”
Fautanu’s first NFL action came in the preseason, but an injury suffered in that game held him out until the game against the Denver Broncos. The Steelers seemed impressed with him before that, though. He was slowly working his way into the starting lineup, and now, he is the team’s starting right tackle.
It has only been one week, so we’ll see if Fautanu continues to hold this high level of play. The Broncos have a good pass rush, but he’ll likely face better players this season if he stays healthy. Even this week, he’s likely to play against Joey Bosa, one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. It should be a good test for him.
Fautanu was also a fan of the Steelers growing up, so it was probably intense for him to play in an actual game for them. He didn’t get starstruck, though. He battled against the strange rotation the Steelers were employing and put in a solid first outing.
It does sound like the thin air in Denver did get to him a little bit, but that wasn’t obvious in the game. Fautanu still doesn’t have much NFL experience, so it makes sense that he’d have to adjust to the conditioning level that most players are on. Denver is an especially tough place to play, and it’s definitely not ideal for a first game. Those factors didn’t diminish Fautanu’s abilities, though.
The Steelers’ offensive line hasn’t been great through two weeks, but they’re young and have many moving parts. If the unit is allowed to settle and gain some consistency, they should play better. At this point, experience will be good for Fautanu. With Jones not looking great to start the year, the Steelers will need Fautanu to continue to look like he belongs in the NFL.
