Tim Benz: Plenty to like about Steelers' 1st pick, but there's 1 way they can make us love it

There is a lot to like about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 first-round draft pick, Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu.

“He has unusually long arms. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen play the position,” former pro and college scout Matt Williamson told us during our draft preview series. “He looks like a running back out there. It’s fun tape. Even if you don’t think O-line tape is close to being fun, his is really fun.”

.@UW_Football @tFautanu qk feet; quicker hands; and tidal waves of power. Play him anywhere and your O-Line gets bigger and better. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/rAUtsIYcBA

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) April 19, 2024

Coach Mike Tomlin also gushed about what he saw from Fautanu on film.

“His talents were highlighted by how Washington utilized his talents schematically,” Tomlin said Thursday night. “You saw everything you wanted to see. You saw him out in space in their perimeter game. Crack toss. Wide receiver screens. Great in the run game. A great drop-back pass protector.”

So that’s what I like about the pick. There is one way to make me love it. This is a crazy idea but hang with me.

Actually play him.

I’m not at all skeptical of Fautanu’s ability to play tackle in the NFL. I’m skeptical that the Steelers will insert him into the lineup fast enough. I’m worried that they’ll slow roll his development as they did Broderick Jones’ last year when he sat behind two tackles that he was probably superior to for an unnecessary length of time.

It wasn’t until right tackle Chuks Okorafor popped off on the sideline during a Week 8 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that Tomlin felt comfortable enough inserting Jones into the starting lineup full-time.

Okorafor created his own excuse to be benched because Tomlin — for whatever reason — needed one to start playing a guy that he traded up to acquire a few months earlier.

Don’t do that again with Fautanu. The team’s obsession with proving how much playing time they can get out of Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle has run its course.

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The guy was a fourth-round pick three years ago. He’s given the franchise 49 starts. He’s proven his worth. They’ve maxed out the value of that pick. The organization has drafted two left tackles in the first round over the last two years.

The Steelers need tackles who are great. Particularly in Arthur Smith’s run-heavy offense, and for a new quarterback in Russell Wilson who holds onto the ball a long time while hunting for deep throws.

Moore hasn’t been great. He’s been good enough to keep the job, but not good enough so that the front office hasn’t been looking to replace him before he hits free agency at the end of the year.

Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan need to believe in their own course of action on this one. If they had long-term plans for Moore, they wouldn’t be repeatedly picking guys in the first round who play his position. They would’ve been talking to him about a contract extension this offseason instead.

Moore should be a swing tackle coming off the bench. The problem is, he doesn’t swing. He is much more functional on the left side. That’s where Jones should be, and Fautanu should be projected on the right side.

My concern is that this pick is as much about next year as it is this year — that the Steelers will be plenty happy to deputize Fautanu for most of 2024 with an eye toward elevating him to a starter in 2025 after Moore leaves in free agency.

The Steelers aren’t good enough to be doing that with first-round picks. Nor with second-round picks, as we saw last year when Joey Porter Jr. started to play more frequently after the Week 6 bye, and he put a jolt in the secondary.

If Fautanu proves incapable of starting or struggles in training camp, so be it. If he’s not ready, he’s not ready. Soak a few more starts out of Moore.

But the Steelers need to make the 2024 draft about, well, 2024.

There will be another one in 2025. We shouldn’t have to wait until then to love this year’s pick.

Listen: Here’s how Tim Benz and Matt Williamson broke down the offensive line and Troy Fautanu in advance of the draft