Steelers OL Troy Fautanu Making Transition Quickly

Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers used their first-round pick in the NFL Draft to select left tackle Broderick Jones. The Georgia Bulldog was able to step right in and solidify himself as a starting left tackle in Year 1.

This year, the Steelers used their first-round pick to select Troy Fautanu out of Washington, also a left tackle. The talented former Husky is now making the transition to right tackle during OTAs and minicamps.

Steelers OL Troy Fautanu Making Transition Quickly

The Steelers offensive line coach, Pat Meyer, spoke with ESPN about the progress Fautanu is making as he figures out the nuances of playing right tackle in the NFL.

“Troy’s learned a lot of the different techniques very quickly,” Meyer said. “The first couple days his timing was off because the speed of the game is different -- now we don’t have any pads on yet, so nothing’s going to be determined until we get into camp -- but his timing’s much better in terms of his get-off and run game and his sets and throwing his hands and being aggressive with his hands and whatnot.

"He’s improved tremendously from rookie minicamp to now.”

That’s great news for a Steelers team that is returning to “Steelers football” under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. He deploys a run-heavy offense, and having two young, athletic tackles on the field is going to allow his offense to thrive.

If Fautanu can be as good at right tackle as he was on the left side in college, the Steelers just may have their starting tackles for the next ten years.