Troy Fautanu and the rest of the Steelers’ starting offensive line have played 25 snaps, but is that enough work? After working two drives to start the first game, they played the full first quarter of the second—exiting mid-drive. It’s not clear what Mike Tomlin’s plan is for the finale, but Fautanu is hoping for even more work.
“You have to take advantage of the opportunities you get. I thought we were going to play a little more, but we just have to evaluate the plays that we did get”, Fautanu said, via Mark Kaboly on X. “Hopefully, we get a little more this upcoming week. Experience and reps, you can’t beat that”.
Kaboly’s Takeaways: Despite success, we are still clueless about the Steelers’ OL and Kaleb Johnson
Mark Kaboly / Steelers Correspondent
For The @PatMcAfeeShow
Takeaways from a sports writer (definitely not a journalist) who left the press box early to get down to the locker… pic.twitter.com/ARPbJJnrOF
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) August 17, 2025
The Steelers drafted Troy Fautanu in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. They plugged him into the starting offensive line almost immediately, but he tore his MCL one game in. While he has had to get his feet under him, he has played well so far.
While the Steelers’ starting offensive line held up in pass protection, they get an incomplete on run-blocking. Quite simply, they haven’t run the ball much with the starters just yet. It’s even a mystery to them, to listen to Fautanu.
It doesn’t help that the offensive line hasn’t had Jaylen Warren to block for, and Kaleb Johnson didn’t work with the starters the last time out. Kenneth Gainwell got a couple carries on Saturday, but that’s it. Ask Fautanu or any of the other offensive linemen, though, and they’ll tell you what they want to be doing.
“I am excited to see what the run game does look like because that’s something I feel that we are going to be good at”, Fautanu told Kaboly. The Steelers want to run the ball this year, and the offensive line is the key to their success in that area.
Last year, they simply didn’t do enough. Without Troy Fautanu for nearly the entire season, the Steelers’ offensive line blocked for one of the most inefficient but eager running games in the NFL. They want to run the ball just as much this year, but see a lot more production from it.
The problem is, most of the way through the preseason, we have no idea whether it will work, the Steelers have mostly the same offensive line as last season, though ostensibly better. They have Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick as second-year starters, and Broderick Jones at left tackle. Then there’s obviously Troy Fautanu, who could make a big difference at right tackle. But we’re using a lot of words like “could” right now, and we will continue to do so until we see something that actually makes a difference.
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