Steelers training camp observations: Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier quickly showing why they were top draft picks
Ray Fittipaldo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After two days of physical practices in full pads, Steelers coaches and scouts have to be wondering whether they should be overly excited about the rookie offensive linemen or concerned by the lack of progress some of their young defensive linemen are making. Or maybe it’s a little of both.
After watching the first two days of one-on-ones between the offensive linemen and the defensive linemen, it looks like assistant general manager Andy Weidl and his scouting staff knew what they were doing when they selected Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick with three of their first five picks in the draft.
For the second consecutive day, they shined going up against the defensive line and outside linebackers. One day after winning two of three against T.J. Watt, Fautanu, the No. 20 overall pick in the draft, won all three reps against second-year outside linebacker Nick Herbig.
Fautanu is still working with the second-team offense, but he’s quickly turning heads among his teammates.
“I think he’s done a great job,” Watt said. “He’s done a good job of changing up his sets and doing different things. It’s always fun when you get a new tackle to go against because it’s not the same techniques you’re used to seeing day in and day out. It’s been great competition.”
There were some NFL draft analysts who believed Fautanu’s best position in the NFL would be guard because he doesn’t have prototypical tackle size. But his footwork and technique are so polished that he doesn’t have any issue mirroring athletic pass rushers like Watt and Herbig. And he’s having no trouble transitioning from left tackle to right tackle.
“Man, I just see him continuing to get better,” second-year tackle Broderick Jones said. “He’s coming along really well. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him. He works his tail off. He doesn’t complain about things. He’s always asking questions and trying to figure out how he can get better.”
Jones knows how important the individual reps against the defensive line can be in a rookie’s development. He was the Steelers’ No. 1 pick last year and got a healthy dose of Watt in his first training camp. Overall, he’s been impressed with the rookie trio and their early development.
Frazier and McCormick were excellent again in the pass-rush drill on Wednesday. Frazier won three consecutive reps against Breiden Fehoko. And McCormick once again had no problem with veteran Isaiahh Loudermilk.
“One-on-one drills are slanted in the defense’s favor,” Jones said. “You just have to come with the mindset that you have to overcome the battle and put your best foot forward. I feel like they’re doing a good job of taking it serious. Those reps are critical. That’s the only time where you’re getting a lot of one-on-one reps. The one-on-one sets are really important so you can fine tune your skills and try different things — hand combinations, different footwork, different sets.”
While the backup defensive linemen have struggled over the past two days, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin isn’t fretting about his depth just yet. The one player who can help a lot is DeMarvin Leal. After a rough day in one-on-ones on Tuesday, Leal responded Wednesday by splitting two reps with reserve guard Joey Fisher.
“Right now, we got a chance to see it because we were resting a couple of guys today,” Austin said. “We like the young guys. We have to develop the young guys. Right now, I’m not concerned about it. We’re in a good position. We have [Montravius Adams]. We have [Loudermilk]. [Leal] is coming along and starting to play better. We know he’s had a little ups and downs since he’s been here, but he’s a good guy and worked his tail off.”
For Leal, Austin said stacking quality practices is important.
“I want to see more consistency,” he said. “What happens when you start guys who have talent and start playing, all of a sudden it kind of goes up and down for them. You want to see more consistency. Once you see more consistency, his talent will show.”
Special guest Deebo
Former Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison attended practice Wednesday and spent time imparting his wisdom to the younger players on the roster, notably Herbig, who is the top backup behind Watt and Alex Highsmith.
Harrison was known for his patented rip move to get past offensive tackles. Harrison’s dip and rip often resulted in a sack or a holding penalty on the offense.
“It’s a move that’s very difficult to learn, but he had so many sacks off that one move and then a couple of counters,” Watt said. “If Nick can learn from a guy who’s going to be a Hall of Famer, why wouldn’t he try to soak up as much information as he can? It’s so cool that Deebo is willing to spend his time teaching his moves to us, as well.”
Establishing the run
It hasn’t been hard to tell new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is a coach who wants to run the football. The offense won the seven shots drill for a second day in a row, this time when Najee Harris broke a 3-3 tie with a 2-yard touchdown run.
It was the third running touchdown of the drill for the offense. Harris had two, and Jaylen Warren had the other. The other touchdown came when Justin Fields found Van Jefferson in the back of the end zone.
Ray Fittipaldo: [email protected] and @rayfitt1 on X