Steelers' Dan Moore Jr. Is The 'Villain' That Rookie Offensive Tackles Have To Fight To Get To 'Big Bosses'

The Pittsburgh Steelers invested a first-round pick on an offensive tackle for the second year in a row by selecting University of Washington standout Troy Fautanu with the 20th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The franchise took Broderick Jones with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Jones battled with Dan Moore Jr. to secure the starting left tackle position, but lost and didn't see starting reps until Week 5. Fautanu will likely have to fight with Moore to earn a spot in the 2024 starting line-up. 

Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Brian Batko, was on The Joe Starkey Show on Thursday afternoon. One of the subjects of the day was Moore and how he plays into who will start at tackle for the team in 2024. The 2021 fourth-round pick has been incredibly durable in his three seasons in Pittsburgh, making 49 career starts and missing only two games. Even though it feels like the fan base, and to an extent the team, wants to find a new starter at left tackle, Moore continues to win the job. 

"At this point, he's like that villain that rookie first rounders, the guys everyone wants to see on the field, they have to take him down until they can get to the big bosses, which would be defensive ends on the other team," Batko explained. "I would assume knowing what we know about Mike Tomlin and what he’s handled, almost all the first-round picks in recent years, other than a select few where there was an obvious vacancy, that Dan Moore will get that quote-unquote pole position."

As Batko points out, Mike Tomlin's preference is to not initially start rookies if he can avoid doing it. Jones only started in Week 5 due to an injury to Moore. He didn't get back into the starting lineup until Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans, and it was replacing Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle. In 2022, Kenny Pickett didn't get onto the field until halftime during a Week 4 game against the New York Jets. Najee Harris is one of those exceptions who got plenty of playing time from the get-go as the team's bell-cow running back in the 2021 season. 

The other factor that Tomlin, Arthur Smith, and Offensive Line Coach Pat Meyer have to weigh in their decision on who to put in the starting lineup is which sides they will play. General Manager Omar Khan said at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine that the plan is to "eventually" move Jones to the left. Conventional wisdom says that means that Fautanu and Moore will fight for the other starting job on the right. There are a few wrinkles to that, though. 

Tomlin has been cagey on moving Jones to the left side and has talked a few times about his rookie season showcasing what he can do on the right side. Fautanu was primarily a left tackle in college, but spent his last two seasons doing it for a team with a left-handed quarterback, Micheal Penix Jr.       

During the 2023 season, Tomlin said that Moore is "significantly" better on the left side. This led to the team keeping Jones on the right for the remainder of the year after he replaced Okorafor. 

Steelers' Moore Not Likely To Be Traded

Even if he doesn't win a starting job, Batko doesn't think there's a high chance the team will trade Moore. He put the odds that he would be traded at only 7%.

Pittsburgh doesn't have much depth at tackle, and Moore is still cost-controlled in the final year of his rookie deal. While the Steelers dealt offensive linemen Kendrick Green and Kevin Dotson for draft picks in 2023 after they failed to make the starting lineup, it doesn't look like that will be the case for Moore in 2024. 

Do you agree with Batko?