The Pittsburgh Steelers official X account released the video of head coach Mike Tomlin revealing to Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu that he would be the Steelers’ selection at 20th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Troy, what’s up buddy? Hey, welcome to the Burgh, brother,” Tomlin told Fautanu. “We are so excited to have you. Look forward to getting started. You are our type of guy and player. It’s been cool to kind of watch this thing unfold over the last 30 minutes or so. We couldn’t wait, that’s why we got on the phone so early. Congratulations to you and your family. Sit tight, we have a couple of people that want to welcome you to our organization. First or foremost Mr. Art Rooney. Congratulations.”
Troy Fautanu played mostly left tackle in college with the Huskies, but has been projected to be the kind of player that can play all over an NFL line. He played a few snaps of right tackle and got his start at left guard in college.
Fautanu is shorter than the average NFL tackle, but has long arms for his height, giving him the requisite length to play the position, and the Steelers are set on trying him there, at least at first.
“Right now, we’re not concerned about that,” Tomlin said during his post-pick press conference when asked about the possibility of him playing center. “We legitimately see him as a tackle.”
Which tackle still seems up in the air. The Steelers have left tackle Dan Moore Jr. under contract for one more season. Broderick Jones played right tackle as a rookie in 2023, but the Steelers have said they ultimately see him as Moore’s successor on the left side. But Fautanu might be talented enough to make them change their minds.
“Right now, he’s a tackle,” Tomlin said, leaving it open to speculation at this point which place he’ll play. “Maybe we’ll have a little bit more detail for you in the morning.”
Alan Saunders contributed to this report.
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