Troy Fautanu, the Steelers 2024 first-round pick, will make his NFL debut at right tackle against the Broncos on Sunday afternoon after missing a good portion of the preseason and Week 1 with an injury.

Yay!

Dan Moore Jr., a 2024 fourth-round pick out of Texas A&M, is just too good right now to lose his job and will reportedly remain the starting left tackle at Denver in Week 2 and for the foreseeable future.

Yay for the underdog!

Broderick Jones, a 2023 first-round pick out of Georgia, a stud the Steelers moved up three spots to select at 14, appears to be headed for the bench in favor of Fautanu. But Jones can play on both the left and right side, and his versatility as a backup swing tackle is an asset

Yay for versatility!

Wait, what?

Why isn’t Moore the backup swing tackle? Oh, right, he can only play left tackle, and he’s just too darn good right now to be moved to the bench in favor of Jones. Moore at left tackle and Fautanu at right tackle give the Steelers their best five starting offensive linemen right now.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of the Steelers and their desire to do all they can to win right now.

Yes, it’s nice to have tunnel vision and be focused on the “now,” but gosh golly, the Steelers have been stuck in mediocrity for quite some time. They haven’t won a playoff game in–say it with me–seven years. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that they’ve only won two division titles since clinching their last postseason victory. Despite the popularity of the phrase “Just get in, and anything can happen,” it’s less likely that a win will happen if you barely scrape into the dance as the sixth or seventh seed. Winning the division is important and is often accomplished by contenders.

Contenders usually have deep rosters with stars at multiple positions.

The Steelers may have a star here and a star there, but his name is T.J. Watt. I may have also accepted Minkah Fitzpatrick and possibly Chris Boswell.

In other words, the Steelers don’t have many star players, especially on offense, and they drafted Jones with the idea that he’d be a cornerstone of their franchise at one of the most important positions on a football team.

No, Jones didn’t have a ton of experience as a starter at Georgia, but the athleticism was tangible and the potential was off the charts. The ceiling was/is high for Jones.

Moore may have yet to hit his ceiling, but his feet will likely still touch the ground when he does. Fact is, Moore has turned himself into a fine left tackle and has started 50 of a possible 52 games since earning the job during his rookie training camp in 2021. I like Moore and have always been a fan. I’d be perfectly happy with Moore as Pittsburgh’s starting left tackle…if not for Jones’s presence on the roster.

If the Steelers didn’t think they needed an upgrade at both tackle spots, they wouldn’t have used back-to-back first-round picks to draft tackles.

The Steelers obviously don’t want just dependable tackles, they want superstar tackles.

Jones may have struggled in training camp and the preseason, but he did okay for himself when he became the starting right tackle during the 2023 campaign. Jones might experience some growing pains as the starting left tackle, and the Steelers may be worse off for it in the meantime.

So what?

If the Steelers drafted a stud quarterback, they wouldn’t keep him on the bench in favor of a steady veteran. They’d insert him into the starting lineup sooner rather than later (certainly by his second season) and allow him to take his lumps as he grew into the role.

Head coach Mike Tomlin needs to stop living in his fears. He needs to stop worrying about “right now” and focus some of his attention on the future.

Right now, the Steelers are an average team, and the chances of them remaining at the level are greater with Moore as their starting left tackle.

Broderick Jones may make the Steelers worse now, but his growth and development at a cornerstone position are important for helping them become true contenders in the future.