When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to select offensive tackle Broderick Jones at No. 14 in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the franchise viewed the Georgia product as the future starter at the left tackle position in front of franchise quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Though he still has some developing to do before he reaches those lofty expectations, Jones is turning some heads on the Steelers’ coaching staff.
Offensive line coach Pat Meyer, who has kept a close eye on Jones through rookie minicamp and OTAs and now into mandatory minicamp, believes that his new prized possession on the offensive line in Jones has all the tools to be a great player in the NFL.
“He’s talented. He’s young, he’s athletic, he’s got all the tools. The thing is, he wants to be great,” Meyer said to reporters Wednesday, according to audio provided by the Steelers’ PR department. “So, he stays with that. He wants to be great, and he has that attitude to do that. And when the time’s ready for him, he’s gonna be in there.”
Jones certainly has all the tools with his size, athleticism and overall mentality at the position.
He’s a mauler in the run game, one who moves extremely well and can climb to the second level or get out in space to really lay the wood to a defender, springing the running back. He has light feet in pass protection as well and moves quite well in his pass sets. That said, he needs to continue to develop his hand usage and has a tall task in front of him of truly grasping Meyer’s independent hand usage technique for offensive linemen in pass protection.
Pittsburgh made the move on draft night to go up and get Jones, trading up from #17 to #14 to take him, the first offensive tackle the Steelers have taken in the first round since 1996. The trade up for Jones was lauded overall as the Steelers got one of the best left tackles in the draft class, providing protection for Pickett long-term in the process.
The book on Jones is that he is a raw but uber-athletic player. He started just 19 games at Georgia and only one full season. He’s very young overall and quite inexperienced, so there’s some developing and maturity that needs to take place in Pittsburgh.
The good news is that he has the right mindset of wanting to be great and wanting to put in the work. Pair that with the tools that he has at his disposal and it’s not a surprise to see why Meyer is so excited about his future and believes he can become a great player in the NFL.
