The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed first-round draft pick Troy Fautanu, an offensive tackle out of the University of Washington, to a four-year contract, the team announced Monday.
The 20th overall pick, Fautanu is on a rookie deal with an option for a fifth year that is given to all first-round selections. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
“Excited to have him as a member of this organization,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said in a statement. “We spent a great deal of time with him. We met with Troy at the Combine. We had him in here as a (pre-draft) 30 visit. We are excited to have him here.”
The 6-foot-4, 317-pound Fautanu was selected to the All-Pac-12 Conference First Team in 2022 and 2023, starting all 15 games at left tackle last season, when he won the Morris Trophy as the top offensive lineman in the league.
“Really excited about Troy,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. “The tape was just really, really impressive, not only in terms of his talents, but really, I think his talents were really highlighted by the way that Washington utilized his talents schematically.”
The Steelers have used Fautanu at right tackle for most of his practice reps, and he figures to be in the mix with returning starters Broderick Jones at right tackle and Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle.
Fautanu said it was a dream of his to be drafted by the Steelers, as he grew up a fan of the team and looked up to star safety Troy Polamalu.
“It couldn’t have gone any better. I grew up a Troy Polamalu fan,” Fautanu said. “I wore No. 43 pretty much my whole life until I switched to O-line and couldn’t wear it. Just growing up, being a fan of the Steelers, I know a lot about the team and the history. I am super excited, and it couldn’t have been any better. It’s with the team I grew up loving.”
Pittsburgh’s 2024 draft class now has one unsigned player, second-round pick Zach Frazier, a center from West Virginia.
–Field Level Media