The Pittsburgh Steelers are slated to return to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA this Wednesday, and with their return comes the beginning of a new season.

A fresh start.

A new sense of hope.

But with it also comes a lot of expectation and speculation surrounding the entire team. Camp battles, organizational needs and what might have been left undone over the lengthy offseason will be drudged up again as the players start putting their best foot forward to eventually make the 53-man roster.

As I start to wrap my own brain around the Steelers’ return, I start to look at positions which I’ll be keeping a close eye on as the players don pads for the first time in a long time. When I say positions, I’m not referring to something as broad as “linebacker”, but a single position which I’m excited to see how it plays out at Saint Vincent College.

Before you click away from this article, assuming I’m going to say the quarterback position, know I’m not referring to the quarterbacks. Instead, I’m referring to a position which has been the pinnacle of importance for the organization the past two NFL Drafts.

That would be offensive tackle.

When you look at just the tackles on the current roster, you can see the investment the organization has put into the position.

• Dan Moore Jr. – 4th Round
• Broderick Jones – 1st Round
• Troy Fautanu – 1st Round

Last season the Steelers tested Jones’ versatility, giving him his first start of the season during a Dan Moore injury at left tackle, and then moving him to right tackle after Chuks Okorafor was placed in the dog house for the remainder of the season. This past offseason Omar Khan stated the organization views Jones as the team’s future at left tackle, and that’s important.

The comments by Khan were made at the NFL Scouting Combine, before the team selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, and when they did they selected Fautanu out of Washington. That selection certainly made the upcoming season interesting.

Will the Steelers truly give Fautanu, who is the same age as Jones, a shot to win a starting job?

If not, will they keep Jones at right tackle and start the veteran Moore at left tackle?

Let’s just say the Steelers plan on giving Fautanu the Broderick Jones treatment, and easing him into the starting lineup in 2024. How would that look?

Would Moore start at left tackle, considering he has openly said he isn’t comfortable on the right side, and Jones on the right side? Then, when Fautanu is ready they move Jones from right-to-left and insert Fautanu at right tackle?

I don’t even want to get into a situation where the Steelers might see Fautanu as a left tackle…not even going to go there right now.

In other words, there are a lot of moving pieces at the offensive tackle position this training camp, and it will be paramount the Steelers don’t screw it up. In other words, let the best players play, regardless of age, experience and versatility.

If the Steelers are genuine about how they view Jones as the starting left tackle of the future, then it’s time to put him there and let him get the valuable experience he needs to excel. Once that is done, let Fautanu and Moore battle it out at right tackle. If an injury occurs to Jones, you have Moore who can slide over to the left side.

In a perfect world, you have Jones and Fautanu as your bookend tackles, with Moore as the swing tackle to be the primary back-up.

Sadly, we don’t live in a perfect world, but I can honestly say this is going to be one of, if not the most, important positions to watch this training camp to see not just how things shake out, but how the Steelers handle the position.

Let’s hope they don’t screw it up…