Everyone in Pittsburgh seems to love the first-round NFL Draft selection of Troy Fautanu. But let’s get the opinion of someone who covered Fautanu during his entire career at the University of Washington.

Dick Fain hosts the afternoon show at 93.3 KJR in Seattle with Dave “Softy” Mahler. He is a Husky alum and watched the program closely this year en route to the national championship game.

He joined me on 105.9 The X after Fautanu was selected. Here are some of his answers to five important questions about the Steelers’ new offensive lineman.

Was the thinking in Seattle that Fautanu would be gone before pick No. 20?: “I think you guys (in Pittsburgh) got a steal,” Fain said. “Our analysts, we all had shortlists at (pick) 16 (where Seattle was slotted). And we all kind of went around the horn and said, ‘Who would you want to see on the board at 16 for the Seahawks that you would just say, nope, not trading down. I’m just going to use this pick at 16.’ Every single one of us had Troy Fautanu.”

Fain insists he had no Washington bias in that opinion.

“I’m not one that really leans heavily on Huskies,” Fain said. “Normally, I actually kind of go the other way. I see them in college, and I kind of get the feeling of, ‘Oh, they play for my school. I like them, but they can’t be that good, right?’ So I usually go the other way. … But these three Huskies this year in Rome Odunze (WR, Chicago Bears), Michael Penix Jr. (QB, Atlanta Falcons) and Troy Fautanu are as close to can’t-miss as maybe I’ve ever seen.”

If Fautanu was so good in Seattle, why didn’t the Seahawks take him at No. 16 instead of Byron Murphy (NT, Texas)?: “I had Fautanu higher on my list than Byron Murphy. I kind of understand why they went defense because the first 14 picks of the draft were all offensive. At that point, you’ve just got to look at your value board and (say), ‘Wait a second. I can get my best defender in college football?’ And they said that Byron Murphy was their highest defender — and you can kind of believe them,” Fain said. “I would have preferred Fautanu over Byron Murphy, but I’m satisfied with the Murphy pick as well.”

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Is Fautanu actually a tackle in the NFL? Or is he more likely to end up at guard?: “He’s both,” Fain replied. “I think he can be an excellent tackle. I think he can be an excellent guard. We’ve had analysts on our radio show that have said, ‘He could be a Hall of Fame player at guard.’”

But Fain says that doesn’t mean the Steelers should move him away from his more natural position outside.

“I think he’s got all the traits to be a great tackle,” Fain continued. “He was the anchor of that line. … He was the No. 1 offensive lineman on the No. 1 offensive line in college football, so I think he can play both. That gives you guys tremendous flexibility. If (the Steelers) ever were to have an injury at guard, you could just slide him over if needed, or you can just play him at tackle. I mean, reading his quotes, he wants to be the left tackle of the present and the future for Pittsburgh.”

If Fautanu does stay at tackle, will he be better on the right side or the left side?: “He’s very flexible, and the guy is extremely athletic. I really don’t see a weakness in his game,” Fain said.

Some have wondered if being on the left side will prove more difficult for Fautanu since Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are right-handed, and now Fautanu will have to protect the blind side of the QBs. At Washington, Penix was a lefty. So he was protected on the right side by Roger Rosengarten who went in the second round to Baltimore.

“I’m not going to say that (Fautanu) is elite at every facet of the game at this point, but I really don’t see a weakness,” Fain continued. “That’s why his versatility comes into play at both the guard and the tackle position, both run blocking and pass blocking. You just rarely ever saw him make a mistake.”

Are the knee injury concerns we heard about late in the draft process legit?: “Those were really not very much a big deal here in Seattle,” Fain said. “They weren’t talked about really at all during his Husky career. Everything is going to crop up in the offseason for the draft. You’re going to be poked and prodded and nitpicked. As far as Penix goes, I was so tired of the injury concerns. I didn’t see any of those in two years of watching this guy start 27 or 28 consecutive games with Washington. Same thing for Fautanu. … You guys (in Pittsburgh) are to gain from all those rumors, for sure.”

Listen: Tim Benz and Dick Fain of KJR Radio in Seattle discuss the Steelers selection of Washington Huskies tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round of the NFL Draft.

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