The Pittsburgh Steelers and General Manager Omar Khan have had a clear plan to improve the offensive line over the last couple of seasons. They made moves to add James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo through free agency, and have also used a lot of high draft picks on the offensive line. The organization traded up in the first-round of the 2023 NFL Draft to grab Broderick Jones, and spent each of their first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft on Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier.
Pittsburgh kicked off their season with a victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, where the starting offensive line seemed to have no issues. Frazier looked good in his first start at center, and Jones performed well at right tackle. Fautanu never got any snaps at tackle, but was active as he was returning from a knee injury. Pittsburgh's long-awaited plan has been to start Fautanu at right tackle when he is ready, and Jones would move to the left side. Now, it seems as though Pittsburgh's starting left tackle, Dan Moore Jr., may retain his starting job while Jones moves to the bench.
Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo appeared on 93.7 The Fan on Thursday, where he spoke about what he expects the offensive line to look like on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
"I do know, from talking to Troy [Fautanu] yesterday that he was taking first-team reps. Guys, if I had to take my best guess, right now, not just based off of practice observations, but more based off of what Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday -- if you guys remember he said that they have a commitment to playing Troy because during the training camp period where he earned the starting job, it felt like he was one of their best offensive linemen."
Head Coach Mike Tomlin has been high on Fautanu ever since he arrived in Pittsburgh. The rookie got hurt in the team's first preseason game and he didn't necessarily play well. He was still given the right tackle spot while he was hurt per insider Gerry Dulac. Jones is also a little banged up, which could factor into the offensive line Pittsburgh rolls out in Week 2. Fittipaldo continued to give his prediction on what the line will look like Sunday.
"If I had to guess, the way it is going to transpire on Sunday, and I think we'll have more clarity tomorrow, I would say Dan Moore at left tackle and Troy Fautanu at right."
The insider seems to think the team will give the rookie the starting nod at right tackle and send the second-year player to the bench. If this does happen, Jones will need to prove he is better on the left side than Moore. He already was in a position battle for the left tackle spot ahead of his rookie season, and couldn't beat Moore out back then.
Steelers' Broderick Jones Now Needs To Focus On Beating Out Dan Moore Jr.
If Fautanu starts at right tackle against the Broncos and performs well, there is no way Tomlin and the rest of the coaching staff will take the rookie out of the starting lineup. Jones has struggled throughout the preseason, and he needs to earn his spot once again. The only reason he was able to secure a spot in the starting lineup during his rookie year was because Pittsburgh's starting right tackle at the time, Chukwuma Okorafor, got benched in the middle of the season.
This move to the bench has been coming since the start of training camp. Jones was getting mixed in with the second-string line at times during the offseason, and now it might occur early in 2024. The injury to Fautanu during the preseason didn't help Jones' chances to be a starter throughout the 2024 season as he had to stay on the right side, rather than competing for the starting left tackle job with Moore.
Now Jones finds himself behind the eight ball, and will need to prove to the coaching staff he can be more reliable than Moore at left tackle.
Are you happy with this potential move?
