Preseason football isn’t especially important for some players on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster. But for their offensive line, one short on experience, it’s extremely important. Perhaps most for Troy Fautanu, who only played in one regular-season game during his rookie campaign. Fautanu got some work during the Steelers’ win on Saturday, and he impressed his quarterback, Mason Rudolph.
“I thought they did great,” Rudolph said of Fautanu and Broderick Jones, speaking on the Breakfast With Benz podcast after Monday’s training camp practice. “You can just see, Troy, you can see he’s hungry. I’m sure he feels like he missed out [last year], because he did. But man, he is every single rep, he has just had a great attitude and a level of focus that’s been awesome.”
Fautanu only played 15 snaps, so it’s far from a large sample size to evaluate. However, he did well for the most part. Although the Steelers struggled to run the football early in the game, Fautanu helped keep some clean pockets for his quarterbacks. He and the other young tackle in Pittsburgh, Broderick Jones, didn’t allow a single pressure during their time on the field.
Fautanu did get called for an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty, his only real mishap on the day. However, that penalty was debatable. Unfortunately, the call went against Fautanu this time.
Troy Fautanu and Jones are two of the biggest question marks on the offensive line. Although Mason McCormick might have more to prove, Zach Frazier and Isaac Seumalo provide stability there. However, Fautanu is behind the rest of his rookie class after an ACL injury sidelined him for all of 2025.
For the most part, his preseason debut Saturday was a success. Not allowing any pressures in 12 drop-backs is an excellent sign for Fautanu, especially since the Jaguars had multiple starters on the field early in the game. Keeping Aaron Rodgers upright is an absolute must for the Steelers this season. Fautanu showed he can be capable of doing so at right tackle.
That said, the run game is an area the line will look to improve. The Steelers started to establish the run late in the game, but they really struggled early on. For this offense to run as smoothly as Arthur Smith hopes, the line will have to create a few more holes than they did on Saturday.
Still, it’s only been one preseason game. For Troy Fautanu, a player who really needs these snaps, Saturday was an encouraging night.
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