Steelers Rookie Troy Fautanu Will Start In 2024: "They Didn't Use A First Round Pick For A Back Up"

The Pittsburgh Steelers continued to beef up the offensive line with another first-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. Former University of Washington standout tackle Troy Fautanu joined the franchise as the team's 20th overall selection. While the team has taken a slow approach to getting rookies into the starting lineup in recent seasons, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo thinks things will be different with the deployment of Fautanu in his first season.     

Fittipaldo hosted his weekly chat on the publication's website on Tuesday, giving readers insight into what the team will do with its rookie tackle. He cited how the team used 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones in his first NFL campaign to guide what the team will do with Fautanu in 2024. 

"They didn't use their first-round pick on Fautanu to be a backup as a rookie," he wrote. "Broderick Jones started 11 games last season as a rookie. Fautanu is older than Jones and had more college experience, so I'm betting he starts more than 11 games. I'd actually be surprised if he's not the starter in Week 1, but we'll see on that."

Pittsburgh took the approach of easing in Jones to an extent in 2023, but as Fittipaldo noted, he had significantly less collegiate experience. Jones started 19 games between 2021 and 2022 for the Georgia Bulldogs as they won back-to-back College Football National Championships. Fautanu had almost two full seasons of starting experience with the Huskies. 

Jones made his first start in place of an injured Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens. He didn't get back into the starting lineup until Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans, where he replaced Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle. Jones stuck in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season and the Wild Card playoff game. Jones was given heavy praise for how the running game seemed to get an extra spark down the stretch for the team with him inserted into the lineup.

Moore will still be a factor at the tackle position. The team's fourth-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft has started 49 games in his career. His play has received a lot of criticism, to the extent that the team has tried to replace him in the last two drafts. Moore is in the final year of his rookie contract, so it's likely he'll remain on the team, even if Jones and Fautanu end up as the starters. As Fittipaldo noted later in the chat, Moore doesn't have much position flexibility. He said he's attended 90% of practices that Moore's been in since arriving in Pittsburgh, and only ever been a tackle. Moore has also admitted himself that he can't really play right tackle. 

Steelers Still Working Out Who Will Play Which Side

Jones got more work at right tackle in his rookie season in the NFL than in college. It has led to the question of whether he will be sticking to that side after the success he had in his first campaign. General Manager Omar Khan said at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine that Jones will eventually be a left tackle, but didn't give a concrete timeline. Fittipaldo thinks the team hopes to get their 2023 first-rounder back to his natural side in 2024. 

Fautanu started on the right side at rookie minicamp, which suggests the team is evaluating his capabilities on that side. For what it's worth, Fautanu said he's comfortable on either side. That could give Pittsburgh some flexibility with its tackles should there be injuries. 

Pittsburgh hopes to have found the bookends for the future, with a pair of 23-year-olds on rookie contracts. Now, it's figuring out where and how much they will play in 2024. 

Do you think Fautanu will start more games than Jones did in his rookie season? Comment below!   

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