GM Omar Khan just kicked off his first draft as the head man with a bang Thursday night, trading up for Georgia OT Broderick Jones. The Steelers parted with only a fourth-round pick to move to #14 overall, switching spots with the New England Patriots to secure their hopeful future franchise LT.
Having watched plenty on Jones the last 10 months, several aspects stick out in his game. Only 21 years old (turns 22 in May) with only 19 starts under his belt, he has a lot to work on in terms of refining his technique as a pass protector. However, his physical tools are quite impressive given his size as well as his demeanor on the football field, especially when it comes to imposing his will in the running game.
Therefore, I have done a film room breaking down what Jones brings to the table as a run blocker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, giving them an aggressive, physical specimen who is just scratching the surface of what he can do at the next level.
The Film
Broderick Jones was asked to describe his game last night in a post-pick conference call with the media, to which he responded that he likes to play the game physical, fast, and dominant. That’s what you want to hear coming out of the mouths of your offensive linemen, and this is true in the case of Jones when you pop in the tape. He can be a nasty run blocker, looking to dominate his competition across from him and put someone on his back every snap. Watch this block Jones makes on the DB from Florida. Pulling to the outside from the tackle spot, he locates the defender in open space and proceeds to pile drive him into the turf for the devastating pancake block.
As you can see in the clip below, Jones is a fluid athlete when working in space and making blocks while on the move. Georgia used him a lot on screen passes to secure blocks on the outside like you see in the clips below — locating defenders in open space and properly getting his body on a man, springing the screen guy into the second and third levels of the defense with room to run after the catch.
Jones is one of the best athletes at the position in this draft class and arguably the best one in space. He proved that athleticism at the NFL Combine from a testing perspective, posting a 4.97 40 along with a 30-inch vert and 9’0” broad while tipping the scales at 6’5, 311lb with a near 35-inch wingspan. That speed and athleticism pops on tape like on the plays above and on this rep against Oregon. We see Jones pull to the outside on the jet sweep, looking for work as he gets up field and finds the DB screaming across the field in pursuit of the ball. Jones stops the defender dead in his tracks and proceeds to bury him into the ground.
Jones’ athleticism and aggressiveness as a run blocker show up when pulling across the LOS, like in this clip against the Crimson Tide in the 2022 national championship game. Watch Jones pull from left to right, picking up the LB in the hole. That creates a seal that RB James Cook exploits, cutting the run up the middle and breaking a long chunk gain on the ground.
You see that same physicality as a downhill blocker too from Jones, who looks to use his brute strength and power against his opponents. Watch this first clip in the same game where he down blocks #3 overall pick Will Anderson Jr. Showing off his immense power, he unloads on Anderson and plants him into the turf. In the second clip against Tennessee, we see Jones’ power again in his punch. Shocking the DL back with a powerful right-hand jam, he uses his torque to displace the defender out of the gap completely, springing Cook into the secondary for the house call.
You see that same aggressiveness on this rep against Oregon. Jones goes against LB Noah Sewell, picking him up on the edge and proceeds to run him out of the play like a blocking sled as Sewell attempts to try and get the corner. That gives the runner a wide-open running lane off the left side and he prances into the end zone for six.
There are some technical issues that Jones needs to work on to become a more consistent, reliable run blocker at the next level. He needs to do a better job of consistently running his feet on contact and landing his punch as he likes to go for the kill shot in space, leading with the shoulder to punish his opposition. Here against Auburn, we see Jones get the job done, but you see his feet stall on contact along with his head and shoulders getting too far over his toes. That generates little forward momentum to push back the D-lineman, who gets off the block though not in time as the back runs just outside his reach.
Conclusion
Broderick Jones is a superb athlete who combines fluidity in the open field with a nasty demeanor to be one of the most fun run blockers to watch at the OT position in this draft class. His skill set on screen passes near the LOS as well as ability to pull across the LOS or get out in space on sweeps and toss plays can add another dimension to Pittsburgh’s running game, one that has been sorely lacking for some time. He is an immediate upgrade over LT Dan Moore Jr., struggles getting a body on a man in the open field as well as consistently generating a push up front.
While he does need some seasoning in terms of his technique, Jones has the tools you can’t teach in terms of his mobility, power, arm length, and nasty demeanor. Should he be able to win the job from Moore sooner rather than later, expect Jones to make an immediate contribution as a physical run blocker in Year One and be a big reason why the Steelers’ ground game will see a notable improvement in 2023.
