The Pittsburgh Steelers spending a first-round pick on OT Max Iheanachor could have wide-ranging effects for their offensive line. The biggest one is the future position of OT Troy Fautanu. After playing in just one game before suffering a season-ending injury in 2024, Fautanu excelled at right tackle in 2025. But all but two of Iheanachor’s collegiate snaps came at right tackle while Fautanu primarily played left tackle at Washington, leading to speculation that the Steelers could move Fautanu to his college position. The team itself said it was an option, but The Pat McAfee Show’s Mark Kaboly thinks moving Fautanu around could do more harm than good.
“If you’re not sure of Iheanachor at right tackle right now, you’re going to need a backup plan right there. So do you wanna mess with Fautanu back and forth?” Kaboly said Sunday night on the No. 1 Cochran Sports Showdown on KDKA. “You could really screw him up if you keep moving back left to right, which has potential this year depending on Iheanachor.”
The Steelers should commit to a position for Fautanu. If the team decides to move him to left tackle and continue have him take reps at right tackle, or vice versa, Kaboly could wind up being right. Broderick Jones said playing both sides was “funky” for him, and it could be the same for Fautanu if the Steelers don’t keep him on one side. It can be unnatural, and constantly having to flip sides could lead to Fautanu regressing.
There are plenty of options for the Steelers when it comes to handling their offensive tackles. They could try Iheanachor at left tackle (although given he that he played on the right side at rookie minicamp, that seems highly unlikely at this point). They could keep Fautanu at right tackle with Iheanachor as a backup and roll with Broderick Jones and/or Dylan Cook on the left side. Or the Steelers could move Fautanu to left tackle, have Cook serve as the right tackle and have Jones as their swing tackle once he gets healthy, with Iheanachor waiting in the wings to take over at right tackle.
Kaboly is right that it will do the Steelers no good if they keep switching Fautanu’s alignment. It feels more likely that he moves to left tackle at this point, but the team will have to commit to him there if that happens to ensure that he’s learning and developing properly and not constantly flipping sides. We’ll see what happens, but the Steelers can’t afford for Fautanu, one of the best offensive tackles in football last season, to regress.
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