**Player: OT Troy Fautanu**
**Stock Value: Up**
**Reasoning:** _Troy Fautanu is back on the field and turning some heads after missing almost all of his rookie season. The Steelers’ 2024 first-round pick, Fautanu is already locked in as the starting right tackle. Still recovering from a knee injury, he is taking things a bit slower, but reportedly looks good as he returns._
After heavy investments in the offensive line over a two-year period, the Steelers hope to reap what they sowed. The most valuable seeds they planted come in the form of two first-round tackles, Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu.
Up to this point, the Steelers haven’t gotten out of either one of them what they expected. In Jones’ case, it has been due to performance, though they haven’t always made it easy. As for Fautanu, multiple knee injuries played havoc with his rookie season. He only played in one game, but it was a start, which he will continue in 2025.
As it was then, it remains remarkable in hindsight at the Steelers started Troy Fautanu in Week 2 last year. At that point, Fautanu had limited opportunity to even practice since the first preseason game, suffering a knee injury. The effects lingered into the season, and he did not play in the opener.
However, Fautanu impressed them enough to start him in Week 2, though Jones also had something to do with that. If Jones were tearing things up at right tackle, they likely wouldn’t have done so. Indeed, his struggles in that game got him benched. The only thing that saved his job was Fautanu aggravating his knee injury the following week.
That one proved to be season-ending, and Troy Fautanu told reporters this week that he is still taking things a bit slow. But Broderick Jones is impressed with what he sees, saying he “looks amazing”. Behind the scenes, people had been raving about him going to last season. This year, hopefully, we finally get the opportunity to see what all the hype is about.
_With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that_ [_change the team talked about_](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/02/steelers-make-their-coaching-changes-they-still-manage-to-disappoint/) _after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract._
_There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team is going to look like. The dust is settled on both free agency and_ [_the 2025 NFL Draft_](https://www.nfl.com/draft/)_. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another, or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?_