The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Troy Fautanu with the 20th pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Washington Huskies tackle is the first Pac-12 player the team has picked since JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2017.
Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin might not have attended his Pro Day, but at the post-draft pick press conference, the Steelers head coach and general manager strongly indicated that the organization got exactly what they were hoping for on Thursday night.
“I think position aside, he was the highest-rated guy on our board,” Tomlin said. “That just speaks to our level of excitement of having an opportunity to get him.”
One member of the press interjected and asked the Steelers general manager and head coach if there was any consideration of fielding offers and possibly trading down. This prompted a very strong response from Tomlin and Khan.
“The phone was ringing obviously to move up, move back,” Khan answered. “It’s just part of it. At the end of the day, we had the opportunity to move back if we wanted to, but when we were at 19 and waiting for the Rams to make their selection, they picked who they picked, and we just weren’t going to.”
“We weren’t moving off Troy,” Tomlin emphatically added.
It is a ringing endorsement of the versatile Washington tackle. The Steelers were rumored to be strongly considering Graham Barton from the Duke Blue Devils, and cornerback Quinyon Mitchell from Toledo, who were both still available when Pittsburgh chose the newest member of the Black and Gold.
Fautanu is a human bulldozer and was a key component of the Washington offensive line, winning the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in the nation in 2023. He was also a First Team All-Pac 12 selection and won the Morris Award, which goes to the best offensive lineman in the Pac-12. He was also selected as a Third Team All-American.
Steelers Address Tackle As First Of Four Major Needs In The 2024 NFL Draft
Pittsburgh had four key positions to address coming into the 2024 NFL Draft and filled a big one on Thursday night. Khan and Tomlin are demonstrating that they are heavily influenced by Andy Weidl. For the second season in a row, the organization took a tackle in the first round to bolster the offensive line. The Steelers have three picks on Day 2 of the NFL Draft on Friday.
