Broderick Jones has gotten a lot of attention as a key member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line. Opposite him is another important player too in Troy Fautanu. The sophomore was only able to play in one regular-season game in 2024, so he’s essentially heading into his rookie year. The Steelers got their first look at him in game action after his injury, and analyst David Helman liked what he saw.
“I was so impressed with Fautanu going against Travon Walker,” Helman said Friday on The Athletic Football Show. “You’re talking about a guy [Walker] with 36-inch arms going against a guy who does not have a remarkable wingspan. [Fautanu] did his job. It was a very fun watch.”
Neither Steelers tackle has it easy in practice, going against an edge-rushing group led by T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig. But last Saturday was interesting, as the Jaguars played their starters on defense to begin the game. That gave us a good look at Fautanu against some starters who aren’t his teammates, and Walker is a talented pass rusher.
Although some don’t believe it quite as much, Fautanu did a solid job. He was only on the field for 15 snaps but got a healthy number of pass-blocking snaps with 12 and did not allow a pressure.
Fautanu was called for an illegal-hands-to-the-face penalty, but it looked more incidental and really could have gone either way.
There are many nuances that come with playing on the offensive line. One of them involves hand placement, something The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen gushed over when it comes to Fautanu.
“His hand placement, to me, is already very thoughtful and impressive to me,” Klassen said. “Fautanu has a really good way of making sure he’s getting full extension from his torso, without over leaning, without compromising his base. It’s, like, super impressive to me. And so I thought he played pretty well.”
These are all things the Steelers were hoping would translate for Troy Fautanu. Coming out of college, one of his better traits was his ability to stay centered. That’s led by a strong lower half of his body that helps him keep good balance. Coming off a season-ending knee injury last year, it’s impressive how well Fautanu was able to maintain those skills in his first game back.
All things considered, it was a solid showing from the 2024 first-round pick. Fautanu held his own against a talented edge rusher. He should only grow more as he gets comfortable returning from injury and more experience at the NFL level.
