With the Pittsburgh Steelers spending a first-round pick on Georgia OT Broderick Jones, it’s been widely expected that he’ll take over Dan Moore Jr. as the team’s starting left tackle. However, it’s no sure thing, as Moore came on strong late in 2022 and Jones is still raw. Bleacher Report named Pittsburgh’s battle for their starting left tackle the most important one heading into training camp.
“If Jones can’t supplant Moore, perhaps he can push the 24-year-old to be better. Either way, Pittsburgh would benefit tremendously from improved play on the left edge. The Steelers should be looking to continue developing Pickett as the quarterback of the future while improving a rushing attack that ranked 25th in yards per carry (4.1) last season,” Kristopher Knox wrote.
Moore’s a two-year starter for Pittsburgh, and he’s made big strides in that time span. However, with the opportunity to grab a potential franchise left tackle in Jones, the Steelers were aggressive and traded up to do so. The move was part of an offensive line rebuild that’s spanned the past two offseasons, with the team bringing in James Daniels, Mason Cole and Isaac Seumalo as starters, and now potentially Jones.
While Jones is an athletic marvel who’s going to be a fantastic run blocker, he still needs work in pass protection. In college, he had a tendency to drop his hands too low and fail to get the initial punch on his opponent. Working with offensive line coach Pat Meyer should fix some of those flaws, and if he improves his pass blocking, he’d likely start over Moore.
Regardless of who wins the competition, the Steelers’ offensive line is going to be better off. If Moore’s improved enough from last season to be worthy of starting over a first-round pick, then that’s great news for the Steelers, who can then use Jones at swing tackle. If Jones wins the job, Moore is a really solid swing tackle, certainly an improvement over Trent Scott (who had the job last year) or LeRaven Clark (signed to potentially fill that role this year), and more depth coupled with high-quality starters could make Pittsburgh’s unit towards the top of the league.
Rebuilding the offensive line was Pittsburgh’s first step in their plan to play bully ball this year, and if the line performs well, the Steelers should perform well. The running game took off with improved line play in the second half of last season, and a full season of that would obviously be huge for Pittsburgh, who hasn’t had a consistently good run game in years. It’s going to be fun to watch this group mesh and hopefully, they’ll be able to play consistently good football.
