What a healthy Troy Fautanu and leaner Broderick Jones mean for the Steelers' O-line

New York Times

7 days ago

PITTSBURGH — On a dreary Wednesday in Western Pennsylvania, as the rain poured relentlessly, Pittsburgh Steelers right tackle Troy Fautanu beamed with excitement, knowing that his return to the playing field signaled the end of his personal storm.
'Man, I've been looking forward to this for a really long time,' Fautanu said after the Steelers' second day of organized team activities. 'It's felt like a million years since I've been back out here.'
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When the Steelers drafted Fautanu in the first round in 2024, the hope was that he could help transform a weakness on the offensive line into a strength. He impressed during training camp to put himself in position for early playing time. But during the preseason, he sustained a minor injury to his left knee that delayed his debut until Week 2 in Denver, where he played 55 offensive snaps.
The following week, several members of Fautanu's extended family had flights booked to Pittsburgh to watch the rookie in his first home game at Acrisure Stadium. However, it turned out that the tough injury luck was only beginning.
'I remember exactly where it was,' Fautanu said Wednesday, pointing to the end zone. 'It was over there.'
On the Friday ahead of the Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Steelers began practice with their classic drill, Seven Shots, which features seven plays from the 2-yard line.
'I was trying to anchor down,' Fautanu said. 'My foot just got caught in the ground weird. My body twisted. My leg didn't.'
The torque tore the medial patellofemoral ligament in the 6-foot-4, 315-pound lineman's right knee and dislocated his kneecap momentarily. An MRI confirmed the news, and he was placed on injured reserve. Fautanu would have to undergo surgery in Los Angeles, followed by a rehab process estimated at four to six months.
Though he didn't realize it right away, Fautanu's rookie season was over less than a week after it began.
'Once that happened, there were a lot of nights where you can't really see the light on the other side of the tunnel,' Fautanu said. 'You put so much into preparing for your rookie year. It was heartbreaking for me.'
Fautanu, a deep thinker who says he can sometimes get himself into trouble on the field by overthinking, felt he 'didn't handle it the best' at times, as the weight of expectation and the early roadblock in his career festered into frustration.
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'You're going to have those good days, and you're gonna have those bad days,' Fautanu said. 'The good days were good, and the bad days were really bad. I was just thinking about, 'Am I gonna make it back? Is the team expecting me to be back?' There was a whole lot of stuff going through my head at the time.'
Of all the teammates, coaches and others who supported Fautanu through the rehab process, he leaned most on his mother.
'My mom always knows best,' Fautanu said. 'When I'd get in those slumps, she'd call me and she knew what I was going through.'
Now, about eight months removed from surgery, Fautanu is nearing the end of his long road to recovery. The coaches have been careful to work Fautanu back methodically. He's nearly up to full strength and expects he'll be a full participant when the pads come on at training camp.
'It made me more hungry than I already was,' Fautanu said. 'And I was pretty damn ready to play.'
With Fautanu nearing full health, Steelers GM Omar Khan's vision for the offensive line can finally become a reality. From the moment Khan was promoted to general manager, he's made it a priority to remake the offensive line and build a team that can win games at the line of scrimmage. In his first two drafts, Khan spent two first-round picks on tackles (Broderick Jones in 2023 and Fautanu in 2024), a second-round pick at center (Zach Frazier in 2024) and a fourth-round pick at guard (Mason McCormick in 2024).
Though the process is sound, the return on investment hasn't yet been realized.
During the 2024 season, former left tackle Dan Moore Jr. allowed a league-high 12 sacks. Jones finished tied for second in that unflattering category with 11 sacks allowed. At the same time, the offensive line didn't open holes for running backs frequently enough, as Pittsburgh averaged just 4.1 yards per carry. Only six teams were less efficient on the ground.
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Fautanu's return in and of itself is significant. It's essentially like an extra first-round pick. But the ripple effect is just as important.
Even before the Steelers drafted Fautanu, they planned to play Jones at left tackle in the long term. However, that didn't come to fruition in 2024 because of Fautanu's injury, which forced Jones to spend his second NFL season on the right side. Though Jones has all the physical traits to be a successful tackle in the NFL, he also entered the league a bit raw after starting just 19 games at Georgia. Despite Jones' inexperience, the Steelers threw a lot onto his plate, asking him to start at right tackle and then, at some uncertain point, flip to the left side.
With Fautanu back, Jones can focus his attention on just one position as he tries to prove he can play like a first-round pick following a pair of up-and-down seasons.
'They tried to make me the swing tackle (last year),' Jones said. 'It was kind of funky. I knew I'll be going back to left, so this offseason, I just tried to focus on nothing but the left side.'
Jones reported to OTAs noticeably leaner, which was intentional. He played last year around 325-330 pounds and has now dropped about 20 pounds to be around 305 or 310. At times in Jones' second season, he didn't have the same quick feet that were a signature of his game. By slimming down, he's been more explosive at practice.
'Being back on the left, I feel like it's a bigger boost for me, just because I've been used to playing on the left side,' Jones said. 'Being out here going against people like Alex (Highsmith) and Nick (Herbig), it really helps with the confidence level. When you're able to block guys like that, it makes you feel like you can do it at any level versus anybody.'
Fautanu and Jones are now in their long-term spots on the depth chart, but the spotlight is only beginning to shine on these two players. When Khan chose to take a patient, trench-oriented approach to roster building, it was a logical strategy for a team that needed upgrades, especially if it wanted to have a run-heavy offense. Now in Year 3 of the Khan era, it's time for the offensive line to become the reason the Steelers are competitive late into seasons.
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But those bright lights are a welcome change for Fautanu after many dark days of rehab.
'Those nights sitting in my room, like, 'Man, am I going to come back from this?'' Fautanu said. 'But at the end of the day, I made it through. I feel like that's what made me stronger. That's what's going to make me and fuel me to play the best that I can for this team.'
(Photo of Troy Fautanu: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)