Steelers Will Start Fautanu in Week 1, Says Insider

The Pittsburgh Steelers attempted to revamp their offensive line in the NFL Draft, drafting tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier with their first two picks.

In doing so, they’ve added two high-profile prospects with pro-ready profiles and the athletic testing to match the hype. Both are expected to start right away, but to this point neither have officially won a starting job.

Frazier took steps toward that over the weekend, playing well in Friday’s preseason loss to the Houston Texans and seeing first-team reps on Sunday . Despite leaving the contest with an injury, it seems Fautanu has joined him in gaining momentum toward the starting lineup.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , Fautanu is in line to start for the Steelers in Week 1.

“After three weeks of training camp and just one preseason game, they are ready to hand the starting right tackle job over to their No. 1 draft choice,” Gerry Dulac wrote. “They planned to start him in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills and leave him there for the start of the regular season until he injured his knee Friday night against the Houston Texans.”

That adds some clarity to tackle Broderick Jones – taken in the first round a year prior – and his situation, which has seen him oscillate between the two tackle spots. He’ll continue to see reps at right tackle in Fautanu’s absence before resuming a battle for left tackle snaps with Dan Moore on the blindside.

“For now, though, Jones will remain at right tackle until Fautanu returns,” Dulac wrote. “Fautanu will miss the final two preseason games, but with two weeks in between until the start of the regular season, he is expected to be ready for Sept. 8 in Atlanta.”

Pittsburgh has made a point to make rookies earn their keep, a notion furthered by both rookies’ placement on the second team when the unofficial depth chart dropped.

Related: After Injury to Steelers OL Troy Fautanu, Expect More Spencer Anderson vs. Lions

Even so, Fautanu getting the call is no surprise. His injury – a minor MCL sprain expected to cost him just two weeks – could have been reason enough for the Steelers to want to see more from him. This would’ve given Jones ample playing time opposite Moore and ensured Fautanu was truly at 100 percent and ready to hit the ground running when promoted.

Starting the rookie Week 1 is a vote of confidence that Fautanu has earned after a strong summer. Given his pedigree and performance in Pittsburgh thus far, it’s hard to justify anything but giving him the green light.