"A lot of these coaches, especially coach (Mike) Tomlin, puts an emphasis on it every single day in the team meetings with some of the slides," Fautanu said earlier this week. "It all starts up front, and that's it. That's a point of emphasis, obviously, with you guys who we have drafted and this, that and the other. But, yeah, we've got to take pride in our job, and we've got to get back to what the Steelers used to be.
"You know, that offensive line being led by pounding all them guys. So that's the standard man. That's the standard that we live up to every single day, and we'll do exactly that."
The two 24-year-old offensive tackles are very serious about their craft. Fautanu rehabbed throughout the course of the season so he would be ready to hit the field running when the Steelers opened OTA sessions earlier this week. Jones, meanwhile, dropped about 20 pounds in the offseason to be lighter on his feet on the left side of the offensive line rather than the right side, where oftentimes more power and bulk are necessary.
"I wanted to come back a little leaner because it gives me a chance to gain weight going into training camp and throughout the season instead of coming back heavy and then having to lose weight just to gain it back," Jones said this week. "It's just a hard process. So I just wanted to focus on coming back at a good enough weight to where I can maintain, but also gain if I have to."
If Fautanu and Jones can live up to the expectations put forth for them, the Steelers could be a dominant running team. Few teams in the league have a pair of young, high-pedigree offensive tackles such as the duo the Steelers have.
There are lofty expectations. But those are welcome.
"Although we are a young o-line, they put a lot of, I wouldn't say pressure is not the right word, but they just talk about it every single day," Fautanu said. "Yeah, a lot of expectation from that group of our group. So, every single day we're just showing up, and that's exactly what we've been doing since we got here."
• Cam Heyward is back for his 15th season for the Steelers and, apparently, is music to the ears of Raiders' second-year offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Powers-Johnson spoke with teammate Maxx Crosby recently on his podcast "The Rush," about how upset he was with giving up a sack last season to Heyward.
"I got to say, playing against Cam Heyward and giving up my first sack ever in my entire life, he didn't beat me," Powers-Johnson said. "I beat myself. I overset. He got me, and said some choice words after. I really hope he comes back for another year, that's all I'm going to say."