When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Georgia OT Broderick Jones, the thought was that they were getting their franchise left tackle to protect QB Kenny Pickett’s blindside for the foreseeable future.
Pittsburgh thought so much of Jones that they traded up from #17 to #14 in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to secure the right to select Jones. That bucked the trend of sitting and picking that the team had long embraced under former GM Kevin Colbert because they envisioned Jones being their guy.
Because of this, the thought is that Jones will unseat incumbent starting LT Dan Moore Jr. sooner rather than later in the 2023 season. Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report thinks the same thing and listed Jones as one of six rookies that he believes will develop and contribute right away this coming season.
“As a first-round selection, Jones has a clear advantage over Moore, even though the latter is a two-year starter,” Sobleski wrote. “Ironically, the incoming tackle started one full season for the Georgia Bulldogs. Though Jones’ length (34 3/5″ arms), athleticism and overall movement skills portend him entering the lineup sooner rather than later.”
Jones has all the physical tools you want in an offensive tackle, possessing noticeable athleticism and strength, making him quite the run blocker, especially when on the move. He also is fairly inexperienced, having only started 19 games at the University of Georgia, suggesting that he is just scratching the surface of what he is capable of in the pros.
Still, Jones is raw when it comes to the technical aspects of the game, especially in pass protection. Meanwhile Pittsburgh has Dan Moore Jr., who hasn’t been a world-beater by any standard but has noticeably improved since being thrown into the fire his rookie season. Moore has bulked up and worked on honing his craft away from the facility to prepare for the competition between him and Jones for the starting job this summer.
Given the fact that Jones is just getting his feet wet in the league and Pittsburgh opens up its regular-season schedule facing premier pass rushers including Nick Bosa, Myles Garrett, Za’Darius Smith, Maxx Crosby, and Chandler Jones in the first three weeks of the season, perhaps it would be better to have Moore out there to start the year rather than throwing Jones out there to dry against several of the best pass rushers in the game to start his NFL career.
A young player’s confidence is important when it comes to their development, and putting Jones out there against guys like Bosa and Garrett in his first regular-season action could be seen as malpractice. While “learning on the job” can be a good strategy, having Moore be the team’s starting LT to start the season and allowing Jones to be eased in may be the best move for a team that has playoff aspirations in 2023. That way, you can see if and how much Moore has improved from last season while also setting Jones up for success with less difficult competition after the first few weeks if you want to have him replace Moore in the starting lineup.
