Coming into this season, one of the biggest questions on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster was the offensive line. And through the first couple of weeks of the season, it was a real weakness. But while the growing pains that come with an extremely young offensive line have been there, it’s really shown a lot of improvement as the year has gone on. A big anchor of that effort has been young right tackle Troy Fautanu.
In an otherwise ugly loss, former Steeler Trai Essex was very impressed with the line. Especially Troy Fautanu, for whom he has high expectations.
“This kid keeps on getting better. He had some ebb and flow; this is essentially his rookie year. But he is on a streak right now. These last few games, he’s just been balling,” Essex said Tuesday on his Snap Count podcast. “This kid is going to be a Pro-Bowler. There’s no doubt in my mind. He’s that good… Troy Fautanu balled out.”
The improvement from the entire unit has been impressive. After allowing seven sacks in the first two games, the line has been much better, with just 21 sacks allowed, tied for the 23rd-most in the league. It certainly is good progress after that disastrous start to the year.
It’s hard to think of anyone on the unit who’s been better than Troy Fautanu. Despite missing nearly his entire rookie season and all the experience and development that come during that time, he’s hardly showing any growing pains at all in his second season. He was beaten by his defender against Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago in an eventual safety, but besides that, Steelers fans haven’t really noticed him, a good sign for an offensive lineman.
The improvement is encouraging because it’s happening in several ways. When it comes to his technique, he shows excellent poise. In this rep against Montez Sweat, one of the better edge rushers in the league and certainly the best on the Bears, Fautanu does allow Sweat to get a step around the outside. But he doesn’t panic and helps use Sweat’s momentum against him to keep him on the ground.
There’s also the level of physicality Fautanu plays with. A few times this season, he’s laid the boom on unassuming defenders. But really, his technique and understanding of the game are just as impressive for a player with so few games under his belt. Just look at how he and Mason McCormick pick up this stunt against Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago. It’s just beautiful.
There have been some minor mistakes, but Troy Fautanu’s season has been extremely impressive. Playing at such a level after just 12 career games, it’s hard to blame Essex for being so excited about the young right tackle.
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