Though a veteran like Cameron Heyward knows how early in the process it is for a guy like Pittsburgh Steelers first-round offensive tackle Broderick Jones, he still has an early impression of the Steelers’ rookie. Heyward joined John Middlekauff on his 3 And Out podcast Monday to give his initial thoughts on how Jones looked throughout OTAs and minicamp.
“I love his tenacity,” Heyward told Middlekauff. “He’s got a good body. He’s able to move well. Quick feet. There’s just things he’s going to keep working on. I don’t like to gas the rookie and give him all the keys to the car but he’s setting himself up nice. He’s going to be a big player down the road.”
Pittsburgh traded up for Jones in April’s draft, coming up three spots to take him 14th overall. It was the first time the Steelers drafted an offensive tackle in the first round since 1996, the one non-specialist position Kevin Colbert never took in Round One.
Jones will battle incumbent Dan Moore Jr. for the left tackle gig. It should be the most exciting, intense, and consequential training camp fight. Moore has NFL experience, the team’s blindside protector the past two seasons, and saw his game grow over the second half of 2022. But Jones is a first-round lineman and those players don’t typically sit, even if he is raw and will have to learn the nuances of Pat Meyer’s system.
While Heyward can identify baseline traits in Jones’ game, he knows the real evaluation won’t start until the pads come on in August.
“When you look at the trenches, I look at the games and pads. There’s plenty of guys who are underwear heroes,” Heyward said. “You start doing that cute stuff and then someone hits you in the face and you can’t do anything after, that says a lot about you. Being able to see how you react to certain situations really tells us if you’re ready for those moments. We’ll see what we have in the preseason.”
Physicality certainly isn’t the concern with Jones but Heyward is right that it’s tough to judge him based off pads in shells. Pass rushers know they can’t actually touch the quarterback so they rush differently, using more finesse than bull rushes, and they don’t fight to rip out the football like they do during a game. Veterans also use this time of year to work on pass rush moves to refine their game. Heyward has trotted out his spin moves in camp to see how they work and feel, making the evaluation even tougher.
Jones won’t be able to be properly judged until preseason action and even that comes with the context of facing lesser competition, watered-down schemes, and less game planning. Sooner or later, Jones will see his first regular-season snap and that’s when the Steelers will truly learn what they have.
Catch the full conversation below.
