Steelers A to Z: Will Troy Fautanu buck recent trend, become immediate rookie starter at OT?

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

OT TROY FAUTANU

Experience/age: Rookie, 23

Contract status: $2.74 million cap hit in 2024, signed through 2027 with a team option for 2028

The past: Voted the Pac-12’s offensive lineman of the year and a third-team AP All American, Fautanu was a significant part of an offense that fueled Washington’s run to the College Football Playoff national championship game. He became a starter as a redshirt junior the prior season with 29 of his 31 career starts at left tackle (the other two came at guard). At 6-foot-4, 317 pounds, Fautanu was one of the highest-rated offensive linemen available during the draft this past spring. The Steelers took him at 20^th overall, the sixth tackle selected.

A native of Henderson, Nev., Fautanu spent five years at Washington. Pro Football Focus last season graded him as the fifth-best pass blocking tackle in the country.

Steelers 1st-rd pick Troy Fautanu on his 1sr impression of the jump from practice in the Pac-12 to his first NFL practices pic.twitter.com/5ZpU7QfR4m

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 22, 2024

2024 outlook: While some in the draft analysis community projected Fautanu as a guard (or even a center) in the NFL, the Steelers were immediately steadfast in deploying him at tackle. That is where he spent his initial summer of organized team activities and minicamp, stationed on the second team at right tackle behind returning starter Broderick Jones. That, of course, is of interest because Jones was the Steelers’ first-round pick last year. And Jones was a backup throughout his rookie summer and preseason and first half of the regular season until he replaced Chuks Okorafor at right tackle for the stretch run.

For this summer, the Steelers stuck with three-year incumbent left tackle Dan Moore on that side. Of course, Moore is in the final year of his contract and with the Steelers having drafted tackles in the first round in consecutive years it would stand to reason the longterm plan is that Fautanu and Jones will start in some combination.

Jones was always generally presumed to be a more natural fit on the left side, and the consensus with Fautanu is that he’s best suited for right tackle. Washington had a left-handed quarterback, making Fautanu something of a right tackle on the left side the past two seasons.

It will be heavily followed and tracked throughout camp and the preseason if Fautanu ascends to the first team — and/or if he or Jones moves to the left side. Make no mistake, though: Fautanu is viewed as a longtime starter for the Steelers.