At least publicly, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Troy Fautanu isn’t pushing back against the possibility of switching from right tackle to left tackle.
Especially with Broderick Jones’ recovery from last year’s neck injury lingering into at least this week’s organized team activities.
“Just being ready for whatever happens,” Fautanu said Monday. “With Brod and that whole situation, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But they asked me to play left. I’m going to do it.”
Troy Fautanu said he’s been flipping back and forth over the spring from left to right tackle. But talks with coaches led to LT for the first day of OTAs pic.twitter.com/pD8LB3jy2e
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 18, 2026
That’s what happened during Day 1 of OTAs on Monday. One thing we didn’t see was Fautanu go to guard as had been speculated by some after Max Iheanachor was chosen in the first round of April’s draft.
“I don’t want to play guard. But if I have to, I can,” Fautanu said.
Hopefully for him — and the rest of the team — it doesn’t come to that. With Mason McCormick currently healthy and Spencer Anderson, Brock Hoffman and rookie Gennings Dunker all available, someone should be able to patch over the loss of Isaac Seumalo to the Arizona Cardinals.
But be ready for plenty of movement among the offensive linemen in May during OTAs, and maybe even into the preseason this summer. That was the word from offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio on Tuesday morning.
“We are trying to train them all to have the versatility to play right or left throughout the season,” Angelichio said of his tackles and guards. “If you can keep five guys, it’s great. But usually you are having to mix and match line combinations.”
If it’s just about practicing and getting guys used to playing just about every spot along the line, that’s fine. It’s May. That’s what these practices are designed to accomplish. And in the case of Fautanu and McCormick (who also flipped from right guard to left guard Monday), they have college experience on the left side.
However, if Fautanu is going to the left side, that means Dylan Cook will have to play on the right side. Most of his NFL experience has been at left tackle, where he performed above expectations after Jones and Andrus Peat got hurt a year ago.
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And keep in mind, Cook (a former quarterback) didn’t even start playing the position on either side until he was in college as a walk-on at Montana in 2019.
Now he’ll have to start learning things at the other end of the line. That’s something one of his predecessors, Dan Moore Jr., never felt comfortable doing.
“I’ve been really pleased with Dylan and how he’s fit and how he has moved from right to left, and left to right. It’s been good,” Angelichio said.
If nothing else, all this movement of players around the line puts a new layer onto who wins whatever tackle job Fautanu doesn’t occupy. For now, that spot may be Jones coming off injury and making a switch back to right tackle, Cook making a switch with limited experience or first-round rookie Max Iheanachor getting thrown right into the fire.
Like Cook, Iheanachor picked up offensive line play later in life. He didn’t even start playing the game until he was 13. That said, Angelichio isn’t balking at throwing a lot onto Iheanacor’s plate.
“We’ll move him around, take some looks at him. See where he fits in,” Angelichio said. “We’ll certainly give him opportunities, and he will learn multiple positions.”
Upon his arrival in Pittsburgh, the former Arizona State Sun Devil insisted that he’d welcome playing either side.
“I’m open to it. Been training this whole off-season for it,” Iheanchor said after he was drafted. “I played left tackle in JUCO. Played right tackle at ASU. Wherever the coaches put me, that’s where I played. I’m open to that. Ready to just get to work.”
Personally, I’d leave the right side of the offensive line alone. It’s cleaner. Less room for confusion blocking for 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Keep Zach Frazier at center with McCormick and Fautanu to his right. That was a solid threesome as constructed last year. Don’t mess with it.
Let the best man win at left guard between Dunker, Anderson and Hoffman. If Iheanachor is truly worthy of the No. 21 pick, he should be able to learn left tackle. If not this year, then next — or at least partway through 2026.
If he can’t hack it as a rookie, then put your chips down on Jones healing and finally figuring out the NFL, or that Cook wasn’t a fluke last year.
Crosstraining and Doomsday-prepping for an injury onslaught in May is one thing. Working with intent for Week 1 against Atlanta on Sept. 13 is an entirely different talking point.
In my estimation, for a quarterback who doesn’t want to move that much anymore, the less movement within his own offensive line, the better.