2024 Steelers Season Recall: Pittsburgh picks o-line again in first round
Steel City Underground presents our 2024 Steelers Recall: a look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games and storylines from last season.
As the free agency period was long gone and the 2024 NFL Draft loomed large, the Pittsburgh Steelers were poised to make a splash with the 20th overall selection. While other teams were heavily focused on the quarterback position, the Steelers were almost certainly locked in on shoring up their offensive line.
In 2023 the Steelers added guard Isaac Seumalo in free agency and then moved up three spots in the draft to select George offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Jones was penciled in to be the team’s future left tackle, an upgrade from the inconsistent play of current left tackle Dan Moore Jr. However, the underperforming play of Chukwuma Okorafor forced Jones to start on the right side as a rookie.
Steelers general manager Omar Khan was ready to remedy that situation by finding a new right tackle, but the team was also in the quandary of looking for a new starting center. 2023’s starter, Mason Cole, was let go ahead of free agency, and the team either missed or passed on signing the available veterans on the market.
According to many sites such as betgurus.com, the Steelers were overwhelming favorites to select an offensive lineman. The Steelers were set with -350 odds laid to pick the position, but with two large question marks on the offensive line, there was also an aura around selecting a wide receiver. A receiver pick laid odds of +400 while cornerback was a distant thought with +600 odds.
However, GM Khan was also heavily flirting with the idea of acquiring a receiver via a trade rather than the draft. Among the rumored names that Khan inquired about were Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton and San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk. The latter seemed like a strong possibility throughout the spring, with Aiyuk unwilling to come to terms with Niners GM John Lynch and demanding a healthy contract or a trade as he entered the final year of his current deal.
Despite the Steelers looking at potentially adding another top-flight receiver, Khan would surprise no one on an evening with plenty of other thrills.
The event began with three quarterbacks going with the first three picks. USC’s Caleb Williams would be selected first overall by the Chicago Bears, with the Washington Commanders surprising some by taking LSU QB Jayden Daniels with pick two. With the third pick, the New England Patriots would select North Carolina QB Drake Maye.
The Arizona Cardinals, sitting on pick four, would take the first receivers off the board: Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. The Los Angeles Chargers would go offensive line first with pick six, taking the top lineman in the country, Notre Dame’s Joe Alt.
It’s what would occur next that would shock most football fans as offense was the topic of the evening. The New York Giants would go with LSU WR Malik Nabers and the Tennessee Titans with Alabama OT J.C. Latham before three more quarterbacks would alternate through the remaining top 12 picks. Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. would be picked eighth overall by the Atlanta Falcons, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy tenth overall by the Minnesota Vikings, and Oregon’s Box Nix would be the sixth passer picked, twelfth overall by the Denver Broncos.
Steelers fans would sit nervously as tackles continued flying off of the board. Penn State’s Olu Fashanu (New York Jets), Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga (New Orleans Saints) and Georgia’s Amarius Mims (Cincinnati Bengals) would all be off of the board, as no defensive players would be taken until pick 15 by the Indianapolis Colts. However, the tackle-heavy draft still had a few more names hanging as defenders started to be plucked by other teams in the late teens, leading to Pittsburgh going on the clock with the 20th overall selection.
With the 20th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Steelers would select Washington OT Troy Fautanu, the sixth of eight total offensive tackles taken in the first round. Jordan Morgan (Green Bay) and Tyler Guyton (Dallas) were the others to complete the list of first-rounders.
In Fautanu the Steelers were hoping for their right tackle of the future. Having played mostly as a left tackle in college, Fautanu wasn’t the blindside protector at Washington, however. His role was reversed with left-handed QB Michael Penix, leading Pittsburgh to believe Fautanu’s skills could be similarly mirrored in the pros.
The hope was for the 6’4″ 317 lbs. tackle to play on the right, sending 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones back to the left, his natural position. Fautanu had won the Morris Trophy as the top offensive lineman in the Pac-12 and Joe Moore Award as part of the top offensive line unit.
The 23-year-old started 41 games in his collegiate career, including Washington’s loss in the National Championship game against Michigan. He would head to Pittsburgh with high praise, but unfortunately, his season would suffer multiple setbacks. The first of those setbacks would occur in the Steelers’ initial preseason game against the Houston Texans, where Fautanu would suffer a knee injury that would sideline him for the remainder of training camp and the team’s exhibition games.
Following a poor Week 1 performance by Broderick Jones, Fautanu was tapped to make his first regular season appearance – and start – against the Denver Broncos. In that game Fautanu would play brilliantly, allowing no sacks or quarterback pressures, as well as committing no penalties.
Shortly after, another injury in practice would sideline the rookie, who underwent an MRI and was placed on injured reserve. Further diagnosis revealed that Fautanu had dislocated his kneecap, all but ending a short, but promising start to his rookie season.
