Going into the draft, I wanted the Steelers to prioritize a center — and they still might, with two of the top three still on the board for Day 2. If this was the deviation from that strategy, it's hard to argue after hearing from Fautanu and learning more about how he was used.

And, yeah, it's far bigger than the obvious Polamalu link, though that produced a funny exchange during a recruiting visit Fautanu took to USC. Turns out the Trojans planned it so the Troys would be there at the same time.

Then Troy Polamalu knocked on the door.

"I opened it, and it was Troy, my idol, my GOAT," Fautanu said. "It was a surreal moment. I didn't know what to say. It's so hard to visualize because he's so soft-spoken, everything he did and everything he contributed on the football field. It was very surprising but something I'll never forget."

For anyone who watched the draft, how could you not get emotional watching Fautanu break into tears when he fielded the phone call from Tomlin, his lifelong dream realized?

"I was a little crybaby, not gonna lie," Fautanu told us. "I'm just so happy that things happened the way they did and I was able to get drafted by a team like the Steelers."

There's an understated versatility to Fautanu's game, where he's seemingly just as comfortable at left guard as either tackle spot, though that's probably a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency scenario.

We're also talking about someone who's more than a mauler, who has a volleyball background and wore Polamalu's number whenever he played fullback and defensive line before he was shifted to offensive line as a sophomore in high school.

Whether it's because of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields or Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, it's doubtful the Steelers are going to turn down an athletic tackle, especially one they believe also possesses a mean streak.

"His commitment to the game, his passion for the game, it was very evident," Tomlin said.

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