PITTSBURGH -- To Steelers tackle Troy Fautanu, there's no such thing as a "natural position."
That's a good mentality, because after spending two seasons working at right tackle, the 2024 first-round pick is on the move again.
And he's not alone.
Through the first two weeks of organized team activities, Fautanu and Mason McCormick, who played mostly at right guard in 2024 and 2025, have primarily worked on the left side during portions of practices open for media viewing, while one-time left tackle Dylan Cook and guard Spencer Anderson have been on the right.
"I've had a lot of talks with the coaches," Fautanu said last week. "Right now it's still kind of up in the air. First day of OTAs is just kind of getting out there. Obviously the past couple of weeks [I've] been flipping back and forth, just trying to get comfortable. But obviously if they ask me to play that, I'm going to play."
"... If you work hard enough at something, you have enough reps, you're going to get good at it. So obviously I played right for two years and thousands and thousands of reps doing that. I got really comfortable there, but if I'm being asked to move to the left, then I can do it."
Though Fautanu was coy about a potential move to the left being a permanent one, new coach Mike McCarthy said it was important to solidify the left side of the line early on to protect and work with right-handed quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
"Obviously they're gifted athletically, the way they're wired, very smart players," McCarthy said, explaining the reasoning behind the move. "... I just really wanted to get that left side set and those guys were excited about it, too."
The move is seamless because Fautanu and McCormick played beside each other on the right side and developed chemistry last season, and they each also spent most of their collegiate careers on the left side.
"The first day that I took some reps [on the left], obviously it was a little rusty," Fautanu said. "I haven't been in the left-hand stance in two years, since probably predraft training. But yeah, it's getting there. Being in a right-hand stance right now, I can do it just like writing with my right hand. I'm not ambidextrous, but if I were to write with my left hand for a year, I'd probably get good at it."
Fautanu and McCormick aren't the only ones returning to positions of familiarity. Anderson, who was often the extra offensive lineman in the jumbo package and filled in for Isaac Seumalo at left guard last season, is happiest on the other side.
"I feel more comfortable at right," Anderson said. "That's my home. When I first met the staff, I was asked if I had to pick [a side], because you know you're using a lot of the Y and jumbo stuff or whatever you want to call it. And I was like, well, I mean if I had a choice, I'd say right guard."
But even though several of the offensive linemen have experience at their new roles, there's still a learning curve. That includes making tweaks in the communication process.
McCormick previously turned his head to his left when he needed to communicate with center Zach Frazier and to his right to communicate with Fautanu. Now, Fautanu is on his left, while Frazier is on his right. Adapting to those micro adjustments is a key part of laying the foundation of the new offense.
"It's different," Steelers O-line coach James Campen said. "It takes time and you have to be adaptable and adjustable, and they are that. ... We use the term huge and all that. It doesn't define everything, but [being at early offseason training] allows you to take other steps and to see how players can adapt to each other and to the system. So it is big."
And while Fautanu played left tackle at Washington, he was doing it primarily for a left-handed quarterback, meaning he wasn't responsible for blindside protection. That's not the case with 42-year-old Rodgers.
Fautanu, though, doesn't think that will be a significant adjustment.
"I think I got to block the guy regardless," Fautanu said. "I don't view it any different being on the blind side or front side. I feel like other people make that bigger deal than I do."
In the aftermath of drafting first-round tackle Max Iheanachor last month, McCarthy preached the importance of position flexibility on the offensive line. Fautanu's and McCormick's early moves represent McCarthy and Campen putting those words into action during the team's first on-field work of the offseason.
"Coach Campy has just kind of preached the message of the more positions you can play, the better," Fautanu said. "Within the last couple of weeks, we've played next to somebody different every single day. It's been good though, because you never know what could happen. Injuries are inevitable in this league and it's hard to stay healthy."
And while working at different positions is part of McCarthy and Campen's philosophy of developing a versatile offensive line, the early moves are also out of necessity. Seumalo departed the Steelers in free agency, and though Broderick Jones is present at OTAs, the Steelers' 2023 first-round pick remains sidelined as he continues to rebuild his strength and work back from a season-ending neck injury and resulting spinal fusion surgery.
Speaking for the first time since his surgery last week, Jones, who was the team's starting left tackle prior to his injury, said there isn't a concrete timeline for his return.
Not only did that lack of clarity about Jones' future factor into the Steelers' decision to work Fautanu at left tackle, it also weighed into the Steelers declining Jones' fifth-year option and spending a first-round pick on Iheanachor.
"We're monitoring it day by day, we'll go from there," Jones said. "... It's all a business at the end of the day. I'm coming off of a neck injury. Nobody knows what the future holds for me. ... I don't have any ill will or nothing toward him. I'm down to help Max wherever he needs me, because at the end of the day, all of us got to be ready."
