With training camp just around the corner, it’s time to turn our focus to what is going on within each position, and on the roster as a whole. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be taking a closer look at some of the roster battles that we expect to see unfold over the course of training camp as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the start of the 2023 season.
This year, there will be no quarterback competition overshadowing everything that goes on at Latrobe, but there will still be plenty of battles to sift through, both in the starting lineup and in depth. The Steelers added many new faces this offseason, rookie and veteran alike, and it’s in training camp that we begin to see where all the pieces fit.
Position: Left Tackle
Up for Grabs: Starting Job
In the Mix: Dan Moore Jr., Broderick Jones
This is the battle everybody is going to watch, I would imagine. The Steelers invested a first-round pick in Broderick Jones, the inexperienced by wonderfully talented Georgia Bulldog, trading up in the first round in order to ensure that they would get him.
He will have to get past incumbent starter Dan Moore Jr., who has started every game in which he has played since he was drafted in the fourth round out of Texas A&M in 2021. While coaches have acknowledged that Jones starting is only a matter of time, Moore will have a say in when that time comes.
To his credit, the third-year veteran has seemed to say and do all the right things since the Steelers made a major investment at his position and has humbly accepted the task of beginning to take reps at right tackle as well in the event that he loses his starting job.
But he has reportedly put on weight this offseason and reports from OTAs and minicamp about how he performed were rather positive. He should be set up for the best season of his career—if he gets the chance to play, that is.
He seemed to benefit substantially from the coaching of Pat Meyer, brought in as offensive line coach last year. It presented a learning curve to learn different techniques and approaches, but it served him well as he adjusted to them.
As for Jones, while he is enormously talented, it can’t be ignored that he has fairly little experience. He started just 19 games collegiately, including all 15 games last season for Georgia. In contrast, Moore had 37 collegiate starts by the time he got to the NFL.
The general sense I’ve gotten trying to read between the lines of what everyone has said and written is that it’s by no means a foregone conclusion that Jones will be the best starting left tackle by opening day. That’s as much a credit to Moore’s continued work to improve himself as it is an acknowledgement of Jones’ inexperience.
