Steelers insider reveals where Troy Fautanu will be lining up on the OL in 2024

Since the beginning of the pre-draft process, Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan have made it known that they want to move Broderick Jones back to left tackle. Jones, the first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2023 draft, was forced to play right tackle as a rookie.

When Chukwuma Okorafor landed on the bench, Tomlin and OL coach Pat Meyer elected to pencil Jones in as the right tackle -- a position he played sparingly since high school. This was more or less to appease veteran Dan Moore Jr., who was vocal about not being comfortable playing right tackle.

Most of us assumed that Jones would slide to left tackle no matter what this season... but that was before the team selected Troy Fautanu in the first round.

Fautanu was a top 10 player on Pittsburgh's draft board this year, and they did not expect him to be on the board when the 20th overall pick rolled around in the 2024 NFL Draft. Fautanu played left tackle for the Washington Huskies where he logged just shy of 2,000 snaps over the past two seasons in the Pac-12.

Since the decision to draft Fautanu in Round 1, Steelers fans have been wondering where he will play on the offensive line. One Steelers insider recently revealed the answer.

Where will Steelers play Troy Fautanu on the OL?

According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers want to move Broderick Jones back to left tackle 'whenever that is possible.' Dulac insists that Troy Fautanu will be the right tackle when Jones goes to LT.

It's not hard to connect the breadcrumbs back to Tomlin and Khan's comments about Broderick. They view him as a left tackle and they know he's most comfortable there. At the same time, landing a true left tackle in Fautanu complicates things.

By my evaluation, Fautanu is a much better fit at left tackle than right tackle. Part of what makes him so good is his elite foot quickness to mirror speedy edge rushers. Typically, right tackles are asked to be mauling run blockers. Though Fautanu can get out in space with ease, bullying players at the line of scrimmage isn't his specialty.

It's also worth noting that right tackles are often bigger than left tackles. While Fautanu outweighed Jones coming out of college, his 6'3 3/4'' frame may be close to maxed out already, and he might not be able to add more functional weight.

All of these factors show that the Steelers have two left tackles who were former first-round picks. The team has not confirmed where each will be playing, but based on Dulac's comments, it's safe to assume that Broderick Jones will move back to left tackle as Troy Fautanu attempts a new position at right tackle in the NFL.