The Steelers are now in their offseason after failing to reach the playoffs in 2022, coming up just a game short of sneaking in as the seventh seed. They needed help in week 18 and only got some of it, so instead they sat home and watched the playoffs with the rest of us.
On tap is figuring out how to be on the field in January and February instead of being a spectator. They started out 2-6, digging a hole that proved too deep to dig out of even if they managed to go 7-2 in the second half of the year.
Starting from the end of the regular season and leading all the way up to the beginning of the 2023 season, there are plenty of questions that need answered, starting with who will be the offensive coordinator. Which free agents will be kept? Who might be let go due to their salary? How might they tackle free agency with this new front office? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout this offseason, as we have for many years.
Question: Will the Steelers’ early schedule affect Broderick Jones’ timeline for starting?
While the action itself is obvious, the Steelers have been very upfront about the fact that they drafted Broderick Jones in the first round, moving up to do so, because they intend for him to play sooner rather than later. The question is very much when rather than if.
But is part of the answer to the question of when going to be based on the Steelers’ schedule? After all, they face two of the best pass rushers in the game to kick off the season, dealing with Nick Bosa in the opener against the San Francisco 49ers and then Myles Garrett with the Cleveland Browns, now paired with Za’Darius Smith.
Pittsburgh drafted Jones because it expects him to be able to handle these sorts of talents, but he is a bit more raw and inexperienced than many other prospects of his pedigree who come into the league. Some early struggles against top talents could potentially set his development back. Oh, and the Steelers get Maxx Crosby in Week Three against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Weeks four and five are a bit more manageable in terms of facing top-end edge-rushing talent, and then the Steelers have their bye week. I think most hold the opinion that Jones will be starting at left tackle at least by the time they reach the other side of that bye, just in time to visit the Rams out in Los Angeles.
One method the team has used in the past to help break in young linemen is to employ them as extra blockers, the tackle-eligible tight end. They have gotten away from using that a bit over the past couple of years, but that was partly a talent issue. If Jones doesn’t start right away, he should still see the field in heavy packages as an extra lineman. That way he can get his feet wet without the pressure of a baptism by fire against some of the toughest opponents he’ll ever face.
