Fautanu gets 1st-team reps at right tackle
What transpired Tuesday could be a watershed moment in Troy Fautanu’s first NFL training camp.
Or it could mean little in the grand scheme of his development.
Fautanu wasn’t trying to read anything into his getting his most significant work at right tackle with the first-team offense since training camp began nearly two weeks ago for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“For me, it’s an opportunity,” Fautanu, the team’s first-round pick, said after practice at Saint Vincent College. “Nothing is set in stone. It’s an opportunity for me to play big-boy football. To go against the best now is going to prepare me for the future.”
Before the start of practice, Fautanu was informed by offensive line coach Pat Meyer and assistant Isaac Williams that he would take the firstteam snaps at right tackle.
With Fautanu moving up from the second team, Broderick Jones went to left tackle and shared reps with threeyear starter Dan Moore Jr. The switch was one that has been anticipated since the Steelers used a first-round pick for the second year in a row on the tackle position.
The question is whether Fautanu will continue to work with the first team as the Steelers prepare for their preseason opener Friday against the Houston Texans.
Fautanu isn’t looking that far into the future.
“I’m really focused on tomorrow’s practice, to be honest,” he said. “I know I have No. 90 (T.J. Watt) strapping up, going against me. If they put me against him, that is my biggest worry. That’s my biggest challenge coming up “I’m looking forward to the game, but it’s going through the process and trusting the process and not straying away from anything that has gotten me to this point.”
The preseason opener will give coach Mike Tomlin a chance to evaluate all three of the linemen the Steelers selected in the draft. Last year, Jones played 49 snaps in the opener at Tampa Bay, the most of any player on offense.
“I can’t wait for that dream to come true,” said center Zach Frazier, the team’s second- round pick out of West Virginia. “I can’t wait to hit somebody different.”
While Frazier has played primarily with the second team, fourth-rounder Mason McCormick has taken reps with the starters when Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels have received breaks. He has played the left and right sides.
“It will be pretty cool, the first time wearing a Steelers jersey and getting out on the field,” McCormick said. “I want to be a good representative of this organization and play the right way.”
Which is a physical brand of football that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has sought from his offense in general and linemen in particular.
“We know he’s about smashmouth football. I love it,” Fautanu said. “That’s what I love about football, to be able to get off the ball and impose your will.”
Fautanu played left tackle at Washington and was not tasked with protecting the quarterback’s blind side since the Huskies had a left-handed passer in Michael Penix. Fautanu has worked exclusively at right tackle since the start of offseason workouts.
By getting snaps with the first team, Fautanu is assured of facing Watt in 11-on-11 periods.
“I’m used to battling top-tier athletes that were drafted this past year,” Fautanu said. “I’m not comparing them to T.J. Watt, but that level of competition you go against in practice, making sure you can’t come to practice and slack off and expect to perform on Sunday. You have to bring your ‘A’ game every day.”
Fautanu has learned not to ride with the ebbs and flows that can take place during practice, particularly for a player arriving with high expectations and determined to become a starter.
“It’s just making sure the negative plays don’t affect the next play,” Fautanu said. “Coming in, I wanted to be perfect. I wanted everything to be right, but we’re in the NFL now. Everyone is good. It’s making sure I don’t let a negative play affect the next one and make sure I’m making strides each day.”
