Steelers' Broderick Jones isn't ready, but his 'future is bright'
Despite being drafted in the first round and 14th overall, Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones will not be starting in week one. And while that may come across as a disappointment, it shouldn't, especially when you consider the rest of the Steelers' depth chart. Coach Tomlin just explained why: "There is Nothing Wrong With […]
Despite being drafted in the first round and 14th overall, Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones will not be starting in week one.
And while that may come across as a disappointment, it shouldn't, especially when you consider the rest of the Steelers' depth chart.
Coach Tomlin just explained why:
"There is Nothing Wrong With Broderick"
"I feel really good about our left tackle position," Coach Tomlin told reporters at yesterday's presser. "I feel really good about Dan's growth and development. I feel really good about the acquisition of Broderick and how bright his future is. I know oftentimes depth charts produce stories, what's wrong with Broderick, etc. There is nothing wrong with Broderick. There was nothing wrong with Cam Heyward when he watched. If you have a good team. If you have people playing well, oftentimes it means young, capable guys have an opportunity to watch as they grow and develop. That is the story of the left tackle position and I feel really comfortable about where we are."
The bottom line is, if Broderick was miles ahead of Dan Moore Jr. this summer, he would be starting. Now that's no indictment on Jones, but he came into this league as a "project" while Dan Moore has been focused on polishing his game, something he proved to do this training camp:
"I thought he played really well," Coach Tomlin told reporters about Dan Moore Jr.'s preseason. "I thought he showed the growth and maturation that comes with the 1,000 or so snaps that he's played over the last two years. Really comfortable there."
If Dan Moore was drafted with more status and hadn't struggled so much early on, there is a real chance that the media would view him similarly to a player like Andrew Thomas on the Giants.
After year one in New York, people were ready to write Thomas off as a bust given his fourth overall draft positioning and struggles on the field. But then he settled in 2021 and finished as a second-team All-Pro in 2022.
And while that may be a little rich for Moore's skillset, if you told me he was on the Steelers for years in the future, I wouldn't be shocked. Pittsburgh has already tinkered with him at right tackle, foreshadowing a tackle duo of Jones-Moore for seasons to come.
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