Dan Moore Jr. fell into a starting role as a rookie in 2021. He was all set to be the swing tackle behind Chukwuma Okorafor at left tackle and Zach Banner at right tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers, until Banner had a setback in his recovery from a torn ACL. With Banner out of the equation, they shifted Okorafor back to the left side and plugged Moore in at left tackle.
He did not have any meaningful competition last year, the most notable tackle they brought in being Trent Scott. But now that Broderick Jones is here, he knows there is an intended end point to his tenure. His goal is to keep the clock running for as long as possible.
“Competition is what fuels teams”, Moore told reporters on the final day of minicamp, via the team’s website, while talking about his upcoming battle with the rookie first-round draft pick for his left tackle job. “It’s what makes groups better. It’s what brings people to rise to their potential. I’m just excited to get better every single day and be a part of it”.
To his credit, Moore has said, and seemingly done, all the right things since the Steelers traded up in the first round to grab Jones. Perhaps he understood all offseason that they were going to do their best to bring somebody in, but one way or another, he’s embraced it and is using it as fuel.
“As a competitor, I find drive just each and every day. I feel like I wouldn’t be a professional if I didn’t have that motivation”, he said. “I guess you could say a little extra competition fuels the fire for sure, but you’ve got to have that drive within”.
A fourth-round draft pick out of Texas A&M, Moore has 33 starts under his belt already, logging 2,240 snaps over the past two seasons. That’s a good chunk of experience, but he knows that he will have to show the coaching staff that he can take his game to the next level in order to keep his post.
Of course, it’s also on Jones to earn the job. It’s not going to be handed to him by default. If he doesn’t show that he’s ready, if he doesn’t prove that he gives the team a better chance to win right now than Moore does, then he’s simply going to have to wait his turn.
So one way or another, the decision to draft Jones should result in improved play at the left tackle position right away. Either the rookie will step right in and prove that he is the guy the Steelers thought they were drafting, or it will have helped to drive Moore to play at a high enough level to keep the Georgia Bulldog at bay for as long as possible.
