Sunday won’t be Troy Fautanu’s NFL debut, but after missing nearly all of his rookie season, it almost feels that way. Suffering a season-ending knee injury, he spent the vast majority of the 2024 season on the Reserve/Injured List. The Steelers, then, still have a lot to learn about him, and he has a lot to learn about himself. But he knows where he believes his game is strongest, and is excited to show it.
“I think it’s being out in space. Whether that’s run or pass or screens. Something about the space helps me, for some reason,” Fautanu said of his greatest strength, via the Steelers’ website. “Just coming from an offense in college where that’s all we did, pass block, screens, all that type of stuff, and then kind of being integrated into this offense where we’re running the ball a lot, but also knowing that I have the skill set to block out in space, whether that’s pass-blocking or anything like that.”
The Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Troy Fautanu would have been a Day 1 starter if healthy. However, he injured his knee in the first preseason game and then dislocated his kneecap after Week 2. In the game that preceded it, he started and played nearly the entire game. The Steelers already saw enough during practice to have them excited, and he hasn’t disappointed returning this offseason.
Fautanu’s athleticism had much to do with the Steelers’ attraction to him, but he also has polish and experience. Multiple beat writers characterized him as already at least their second-best lineman just based on practices last year. Now we all have an opportunity to find out how real the hype is.
And Fautanu gets to find out just how well his strengths translate to the real thing. Although he played a decent amount during the preseason, the Steelers showed very little. “It’s the regular season. The playbook’s wide open,” he said. “I’m excited to finally be able to run a lot of the plays that we’ve been practicing.”
The success of the Steelers’ offensive line this year will be pivotal to their overall success. If Fautanu’s group gives them running lanes and protects Aaron Rodgers, they could have a unit sufficient to compete with the NFL’s top teams. That is, of course, if the league’s highest-paid defense holds up its end of the bargain.
Pittsburgh has rebuilt its offensive line over the past three seasons. In 2023, the Steelers drafted Broderick Jones in the first round and signed Isaac Seumalo as a free agent. A year ago, they drafted Troy Fautanu in the first round, Zach Frazier in the second, and Mason McCormick in the fourth.
Although Seumalo is likely winding down his career, the team has a potential core that can remain intact for years. But Fautanu, due to his injury last season, is the one we know the least about, marking Sunday as something of a milestone.
