Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 Draft Pick Spotlight- Troy Fautanu

Name- Troy Fautanu

Position- Tackle

Height- 6’4”

Weight- 317 lbs

Team- Washington

Drafted- 1st round (20th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected tackle Troy Fautanu out of Washington with their 20th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The 23-year-old Fautanu spent 5 years at the University of Washington and after redshirting in 2019, he saw his first collegiate action in 2020 as a reserve before starting 3 games in 2021. 

Fautanu was one of the best lineman in the country this past year. He started all 15 games for the Huskies at left tackle and earned all-conference and All-American honors. He was also a key piece on an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the best offensive line unit in college football.

After the selection, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Fautanu was the “highest rated player on our board,” according to the team’s website.

At the NFL combine, Fautanu measured in at 6-foot-4, 317 pounds. He has 34 ½ -inch arms and 9 ½ inch hands. He also ran the 40-yard dash in 5.01 seconds with a 1.71 10-yard split. He added a 32.5-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot, 5-inch broad jump. And in Draft Nation's estimation, Fautanu had the best mechanics of the entire offensive line draft class.

Fautanu was a Steelers fan growing up and idolized ex-Steelers superstar Troy Polamalu. 

“I grew up a Troy Polamalu fan. I wore No. 43 pretty much my whole life until I had to switch to O-Line and couldn’t wear it,” Fautanu stated. 

Fautanu brings versatility to the Steelers offensive line but it appears though that the team has him pegged to start at right tackle across from last year’s first round pick, Broderick Jones. 

Here is a look at Draft Nation’s scouting report on Troy Fautanu:

Strengths

• Hands
• Versatility
• Run Blocking
• 2nd Level

Fautanu is an agile offensive lineman who excels in getting to the second level of the defense. In tight quarters, he plays well with violent hands and has good hand placement and makes powerful first contact. He has versatility, playing both guard and tackle since high school and is a powerful run blocker who hits multiple players on most plays. His upper body strength may be the best in this class.

Weaknesses

• Length
• Pass Blocking

He’s not the ideal size of most starting offensive tackles and lacks the reach of other top prospects. In pass protection, he can lose his balance and tends to lean towards defenders instead of letting them come to him. He relies too much on upper body strength and lacks the ideal footwork to pick up blitzes.