Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft pick Broderick Jones did not have it easy when he started out at Georgia. Arriving in Athens in 2020, Jones didn’t see much playing time due to how stacked the Georgia team was. Jones was redshirted in 2020, but he still remembers how those practices against future NFL players shaped him into the first-round talent he is today.
In his introductory press conference in Pittsburgh, streamed on the Steelers YouTube page, Jones recalled getting consistently beat his freshman year.
“One thing I remember is as a freshman when I first went in, there’s this thing you call like a ‘dog drills,’ basically one-on-ones,” Jones told the media. “I had to go against six people that all (later) went first round as a freshman coming in and lost every single rep. It humbled me, but I just continued to work, continued to better myself.”
Work Jones did, and in his redshirt freshman season he ended up being rewarded for his play with by making the Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC team. Not only did he make that team, he also he helped Georgia win a national championship. Jones’ redshirt freshman year was great in that aspect but it was about to get better.
This past season, Jones took another step up. In 2022, Jones took over the starting job at left tackle and never relinquished it. Jones’ superb play saw him not allow a sack all year en route to another national championship with the Bulldogs. Jones also garnered personal accolades as he was named to AP first-team All-SEC.
His two national championships and personal awards were the reason he decided to enter the NFL Draft, despite still having the eligibility to return for multiple years of college ball.
“I just felt like my job was finished at the University of Georgia for real,” he said. “Two national championships, SEC championship, All-SEC, I felt like I did all I could there. I feel like there was nothing left for me to do there. So, you know, it was time for me to move on to bigger and better things.”
Bigger and better things include getting drafted 14th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers and being their left tackle of the future. While the left tackle job won’t be gifted to him, as long as Jones continues to progress as a player, like he did at Georgia, it will likely be his for the taking by 2024.
At only 21-years-old, there is still a lot of time for development ahead for Jones. And working against a great defensive front like the one the Steelers have in practice should only strengthen him. His work against future NFL talent at Georgia clearly helped him. Expect regular reps against Alex Highsmith and others to help as well.
