It is looking more likely that Troy Fautanu will be making his NFL debut on the road in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos. The Pittsburgh Steelers were elated that he fell to them at pick No. 20 in the 2024 NFL Draft, and now they appear to be putting him on the fast track to be their starting right tackle.
With how well Dan Moore Jr. has been playing in the preseason and in Week 1, this will come at the expense of former first-round pick Broderick Jones.
Rookie debuts can be a little rough around the edges, but Fautanu just watched his fellow 2024 draftee Zach Frazier have an amazing debut in Week 1.
Moore talked about Fautanu ahead of his possible debut after Friday’s practice. Courtesy of 93.7 The Fan, Moore praised Fautanu’s quick development that is allowing him to potentially start so soon, even with his summer knee injury.
It is not a huge surprise that Troy Fautanu is game-ready so early in his NFL career. He started 31 games in college and was viewed by some as one of the top two or three tackles in the draft. Pittsburgh was ecstatic to see the Washington product drop in April’s draft after being considered a potential top-10 selection.
He only played 25 snaps in the preseason before suffering a reported minor MCL sprain. That preseason tape wasn’t great, but it was a small sample size, and the coaches and other offensive linemen obviously see him work every day in practice.
If Fautanu plays in Denver, he will have a tall task against OLB Jonathon Cooper, who had the highest-pressure rate in Week 1 with two sacks, two tackles for loss, four QB hits, and seven total pressures.
We will see if the Steelers choose to run away from that side to ease Fautanu into his starting role, or if they open up the game plan and truly do have trust in the young tackle.
