New Tackle Option Emerges for Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers will continue to sort out their draft board, but at 20th overall, tackle seems like a highly likely option. Guys like Tyler Guyton, J.C. Latham, and Amarius Mims feel like the most likely options. But after his measurements on Sunday, Washington’s Troy Fautanu has to be considered a legitimate option. Fautanu has been speculated to become a guard after playing tackle in college and even noted that teams have talked to him about that. But the arm-length question was there.

Then, Fautanu measured with 34 1/2-inch arms on Sunday. The Steelers under Andy Weidl and Omar Khan have strategically put the cut off line around that mark. Fautanu checks the box, which puts him in the mix at 20th overall. Add on a 1.71 10-yard split and an impressive set of position drills, and this needs to be at least thought of significantly.

Daniel Jeremiah mocked Fautanu to the Steelers weeks ago. While Fautanu did play mostly left tackle with the Huskies, Jeremiah seems to think that his best NFL fit is at guard as well, suggesting that he could play next to Steelers 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones on the offensive line.

“Fautanu fits the physical identity the Steelers are looking to create,” Jeremiah wrote. “He can play anywhere on the line, but it would be fun to watch him line up next to 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones.”

The un-addressed problem with that scenario is that the Steelers have all three of their top guards from 2023 under contract for the 2024 season. So how would Fautanu slot into a starting lineup beside Jones?

One way would be for starting right tackle James Daniels to move to center to replace Mason Cole. Though Daniels has not played a single snap of center in his two seasons with the Steelers, he did take about 500 snaps there with the Chicago Bears back in 2019. It’s unclear if Daniels would even be interested in such a move. But if Fautanu can become a tackle, there will no questions to answer. He simply can stick it out, and his movement skills are an excellent fit in Arthur Smith’s scheme.