Steelers brass explains the details behind the Broderick Jones pick
Broderick Jones was the apple of the Steelers eye, evident by their eventual trade-up to select the talented tackle out of Georgia. Pittsburgh was going to leave round one of the draft with Jones wone way or another, and when a few tackle-needy teams were ahead of them on draft night, they decided to force […]
Broderick Jones was the apple of the Steelers eye, evident by their eventual trade-up to select the talented tackle out of Georgia.
Pittsburgh was going to leave round one of the draft with Jones wone way or another, and when a few tackle-needy teams were ahead of them on draft night, they decided to force the issue.
So let's dive into what that process was like, and analyze the comments of Steelers GM Omar Khan and HC Mike Tomlin when it comes to the trade with the Patriots.
“As late as this afternoon, we were going through detailed strategy meetings, and Broderick is a player who we identified would be a great addition to our team,” Khan said. “When we saw how the draft was going, and he was still sitting there, we made some phone calls to see if there was an opportunity to trade, and fortunately, we were able to make that trade with New England.”
“I don’t know if I would call myself aggressive,” Khan said with a laugh when asked about getting a reputation. “I am just trying to win a Super Bowl. That’s what I am trying to do.”
It is just part of the process,” Khan said. “You just make phone calls and get a feel for what people are willing to do, and some clubs are a no and others are a maybe. You stay close to the phone and stay in contact with the interested clubs, and it just so happened with New England and it worked out.”
“We had a high level of preparedness,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, we weren’t willing to mortgage anything above a third-day pick. He got within range. It was a player that we coveted, and so we did what we need to do to secure the player.”
The Steelers front office and staff was in fact, prepared. They played their cards perfectly, moving up four spots and ahead of teams like Washington and the Jets, both of whom would have likely taken Jones.
The best part of the trade? Well besides the fact they may have just found their franchise left tackle? They only gave up a fourth-round pick (120th overall) to do so. The Steelers are now on the clock again, as pick 32 will kick things off on Friday.
