Tag: troy fautanu

Steelers writer reveals Pittsburgh’s plan for top rookie

It sounds like the Steelers are ready to roll with Troy Fautanu.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected offensive tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, we were reminded of Broderick Jones. The Steelers drafted Jones in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft and he was the starting right tackle by midseason.

We assumed with Fautanu it would be the same thing. Veteran Dan Moore Jr. would stay in the starting lineup into the regular season until Fautanu was ready.

According to Steelers beat writer Gerry Dulac, the plan prior to Fautanu’s knee injury was to get him into the starting during the preseason and just keep him there.

After three weeks of training camp and just one preseason game, they are ready to hand the starting right tackle job over to their No. 1 draft choice. They planned to start him in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills and leave him there for the start of the regular season until he injured his knee Friday night against the Houston Texans.

It’s unlikely Fautanu will get any reps in preseason as the team wants to be sure he’s healthy but according to Dulac, there’s still a chance he’s the opening weekend starter even if he doesn’t play.

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Steelers OT Troy Fautanu suffers knee injury in rookie debut

Fautanu was wearing a brace on his knee after Friday’s loss.

Although it didn’t appear to be anything major, first-round rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu did suffer some sort of lower leg injury in Friday’s preseason loss to the Houston Texans.

Fautanu played just 25 snaps on Friday night and got trial by fire against some of the best pass rushers in the NFL. When Fautanu went down, Spencer Anderson took his spot and ended up playing 42 offensive snaps. Broderick Jones on the other side played 42 snaps at the opposite tackle spot.

First-team offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. only played six snaps on Friday night which only adds to the intrigue of this position battle.

The Steelers selected Fautanu out of the University of Washington in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. We are sure the Steelers aren’t willing to take any chances with Fautanu but we will wait to see what head coach Mike Tomlin offers as an injury update next week.

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Steelers rookie OT Troy Fautanu says he’s treating every training camp day like a game

Steelers rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu is ready to compete for a starting job.

The first to arrive at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu. The Steelers picked Fautanu with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft and he’s taking training camp seriously even though he brought his guitar with him.

Fautanu was mobbed by the media upon his arrival and he made it clear that he is going to treat every day at training camp like a game day. Fautanu is in one of the bigger position battles here at Steelers training camp as he doesn’t against veteran Dan Moore Jr. for one of the starting tackle spots, opposite Broderick Jones.

We expect to see either Fautanu or Moore as the team’s starting right tackle when the season kicks off and Jones moved to the left side. Fautaunu is the future at right tackle but just like with Jones last season, no one expects the Steelers to rush him into the starting lineup.

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Steelers rookie must ‘make strides’ to earn starting gig

First-round draft picks typically are Week 1 starters, but that isn’t necessarily a given for Steelers rookie Troy Fautanu. 

First-round draft picks typically are Week 1 starters, especially in the trenches. But that isn’t a given for Pittsburgh Steelers rookie tackle Troy Fautanu.

Experience could trump talent in Fautanu’s offseason competition with fourth-year veteran Dan Moore Jr.

The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly named Fauanu among the “losers” of Pittsburgh’s offseason to date:

This certainly doesn’t mean Fautanu will be a bust or never be a star. But he makes the list because Moore is ahead of him on the depth chart, which is not his fault but the reality of the situation. Sure, that can change quickly in Latrobe, but the limited amount of time Fautanu has to get acclimated to the NFL — coupled with how the organization approached the Broderick Jones/Moore battle last year — makes you wonder. Fautanu is smart and talented, and that comes through immediately, but he must make strides to win a starting job.

A story to watch is at what spot will the Steelers stick Broderick Jones for reps to start training camp next month? Both he and Moore perform better on the left. Jones got the call when an MCL injury sidelined Moore for 1.5 games.

Moore got his starting job back in Week 7 with Jones reverting to the bench, only to take over at right tackle after Chuks Okorafor’s verbal slip got him benched. Though Jones did improve as the season went on, playing on his unnatural side threw a slight learning curve where he shined in Moore’s brief absence.

Jones is now one year older and one year wiser in the NFL system. Should the initial official depth chart have Jones on the right and Moore on the left, Fautanu may have to wait patiently for his time to come.

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NFL Network offers up interesting option for Steelers X-Factor in 2024

The Steelers offensive line could hinge on second-year pro Broderick Jones.

It’s not hard to look over the Pittsburgh Steelers roster and put together a handful of guys who could make or break the 2024 season. NFL Network writer Gregg Rosenthal is well known for thinking outside the box when it comes to his player analysis and predictions. So when he went with offensive tackle Broderick Jones as his X-Factor for the Steelers, it comes as no surprise.

It’s pretty rare that you put a guy into your lineup and the offense literally changes. They were 24th in rushing EPA before he started, 8th after. It’s less about the production, it’s just watching him. You think about pairing him with Fautanu, what a great match for Arthur Smith. They could be really fun to watch in terms of their running game.

The big move for Jones this season will be his eventual position switch to left tackle this season. You pair that up with what could be two starters on the offensive line and emphasizing the importance of Jones this season makes perfect sense.

Pittsburgh’s offensive line, Jones included seems to be excited about working in the new Arthur Smith offense. Every offensive lineman prefers to run block and Jones coming from Georgia was born and raised to punish opposing defenses for their running backs so he will be right at home.

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ESPN says Steelers rookie OT ‘improved tremendously’ during offseason

Troy Fautanu has shown steady improvement since joining the Steelers.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers went on the clock in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, they had options. The Steelers had invested amount of time in the offseason scouting the top offensive tackles and they had their pick of several great ones. In the end they opted for former Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and didn’t look back.

The Steelers just wrapped up OTAs and now in a month will get together for training camp. ESPN was asked to evaluate how each of the NFL’s first-round picks was in offseason workouts to this point, and Steelers writer Brooke Pryor shared her evaluation as well as some insight from Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer.

Although he primarily played left tackle at Washington, Fautanu spent most of his time working at right during the offseason program, and he said he expects to compete at right tackle when the team reports to Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for training camp next month. “Troy’s learned a lot of the different techniques very quickly,” offensive line coach Pat Meyer said. “The first couple days his timing was off because the speed of the game is different — now we don’t have any pads on yet, so nothing’s going to be determined until we get into camp — but his timing’s much better in terms of his get-off and run game and his sets and throwing his hands and being aggressive with his hands and whatnot. He’s improved tremendously from rookie minicamp to now.”

The Steelers are banking on Fautanu taking over the starting right tackle spot sooner rather than later and allowing Broderick Jones to move to the left side. With Dan Moore Jr. on the roster, it’s doubtful Pittsburgh will rush Fautanu into the starting lineup and will likely treat him similarly to how they did Jones as a rookie last season.

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Steelers rookie tackle Troy Fautanu earns positive reviews

Steelers OL coach Pat Meyer on his offseason observations of rookie tackle Troy Fautanu.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in their second of seven weeks of break before returning for the dog days of training camp.

After the Steelers broke from organized team activities (OTAs), offensive line coach Pat Meyer spoke about the progression of first-round rookie tackle Troy Fautanu.

“The first couple days, his timing was off because the speed of the game is different — now we don’t have any pads on yet, so nothing’s going to be determined until we get into camp — but his timing’s much better in terms of his get-off and run game and his sets and throwing his hands and being aggressive with his hands and whatnot,” Meyer told ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “He’s improved tremendously from rookie minicamp to now.”

Fautanu’s collegiate experience at Washington includes all of two snaps at right tackle (and 100 snaps at left guard), but that’s where he expects to compete when the team starts camp on July 25.

Historically, barring injury to a veteran, Mike Tomlin has delayed starting top rookies until their second season. Going forward, things could be different in Pittsburgh, but camp will offer a clearer picture of their plans.

In a perfect world, Fautanu would show enough chops for Tomlin to feel confident about starting him on the right side out of the gate, Dan Moore Jr. would be relegated to backup, and second-year tackle Broderick Jones would return to his natural spot on the left side.

That’s what Steelers fans want to see.

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Steelers announce signing of OT Troy Fautanu

The Steelers only have one member of their 2024 NFL draft class unsigned.

On Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced they had signed their first-round pick from the 2024 NFL draft to a four-year contract. Pittsburgh selected former Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu with the No. 19 overall pick.

Fautaunu started every game at left tackle last season for the University of Washington but has been getting most of his reps at right tackle during Steelers OTAs. The Steelers are eyeing Fautanu as the team’s starting right tackle so that Broderick Jones, 2023’s first-round pick can move to left tackle this season.

The only member of the Steelers 2024 NFL draft class who remains unsigned is center Zach Frazier who was selected in the second round.

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OT Dan Moore calls new offense ‘oline friendly’

Dan Moore is battling to keep his starting spot but says the offense fits his style well.

You can tell just by listening to the players talk, this is going to be a very different Pittsburgh Steelers offense. The addition of new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has already breathed new life into this unit and big changes are coming.

Offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. spoke to the media on Wednesday and he called the offense very oline friendly with its emphasis on the power run game and play-action passing.

Moore seemed particularly upbeat and optimistic given he is currently fighting an uphill battle to hold onto his spot in the starting lineup. The Steelers drafted Troy Fautanu in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft and paired with Broderick Jones appear to be the future for the Steelers.

It is somewhat odd that a guy who has started 49 of 49 games in his young career is a longshot to be the starter this season but such is the nature of the NFL. Moore is set to hit free agency at the end of the season as well.

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How many rookies will start for the Steelers in 2024?

The Steelers could see multiple rookies in the starting lineup.

The Pittsburgh Steelers put together one of the best draft classes in the NFL in 2024. Pittsburgh made seven picks and all of them have the potential to start at some point in their careers.

But in 2024 the Steelers roster has some needs and we want to see how many of the rookie class crack the starting lineup this season. Here is the full rundown of Steelers picks:

First round – OT Troy Fautanu, Washington

Second round – C Zach Frazier, West Virginia

Third round – WR Roman Wilson, Michigan

Third round – LB Payton Wilson, North Carolina State

Fourth round – IOL Mason McCormick, South Dakota State

Sixth round – DL Logan Lee, Iowa

Sixth round – DB Ryan Watts, Texas

We feel like as of now, there are three rookies who should be starters on Week One. Offensive tackle Troy Fautanu, center Zach Frazier and wide receiver Roman Wilson make the most sense. Inside linebacker Payton Wilson has an outside chance as well but beyond that, it feels more like these guys are future starters but key rotational guys as early as this season.

Cast your vote and tell us how many rookies you predict will start this season.

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