As training camp is set to get underway for the Pittsburgh Steelers at Chuck Noll Field on the campus of Saint Vincent College Thursday, all eyes will be on left tackle battle between third-year pro Dan Moore Jr. and rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones.
It’s largely the biggest position battle in camp for the Steelers and could really shape the offensive line under Pat Meyer moving forward.
Though the job is eventually going to go to Jones at some point in the 2023 season, the battle will be one to watch ahead of the start of the season. Should Jones win the job in camp, it would kickstart a new era at the position, one that the Steelers hope is a great one moving forward.
The belief is that Moore will hold onto the job early in the year and Jones will take over at some point in 2023. But if Jones wins the job, that would kick Moore to the swing tackle role behind Jones and veteran right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor. Steelers.com reporter Bob Labriola doesn’t expect Moore to push Okorafor for the job at right tackle though, like many seem to hope and believe.
Instead, Labriola believes that potential right tackle competition would come in 2024 between Moore and Okorafor, depending on the season Okorafor has.
“I believe the plan the Steelers have is for Dan Moore Jr. and Broderick Jones to open at left tackle, with Jones learning and eventually taking over that spot. Once Jones is at left tackle, Moore figures to finish out the season as the swing tackle. In 2024, depending upon Jones’ progress and the kind of 2023 season Chuks Okorafor has, maybe then there is a competition at right tackle,” Labriola writes in response to a reader in his Thursday Asked and Answered segment.
Throughout the offseason, Moore has aimed to do whatever it takes to prepare himself for the weeks and months leading up to the 2023 season. To date, Moore has started a possible 33 of 34 games for the Steelers and has played 2,240 snaps at left tackle in the last two seasons. He has the experience.
Moore just needs to clean up his play a bit. After being flagged five times as a rookie, he had nine penalties called against him in 2022. That included four for holding and another four for false starts, so the issues were both pre- and post-snap. The other penalty was for illegal formation. Six of the nine came on the road, including three of the four holds.
Along with the issues with pre- and post-snap penalties, Moore allowed 39 total pressures last season, resulting in 22 hurries, 10 quarterback hits and seven sacks. The seven sacks match his rookie season output from 2021, but according to Pro Football Focus, his pass blocking grade jumped nearly 10 points to 67.3 in 2022.
The Steelers clearly believe they upgraded the position with Jones though. That said, the position won’t be handed to him, and Moore is ready to fight for not only his starting spot, but a spot on the roster in Pittsburgh. He got some work in at right tackle on his own this offseason just to be prepared as that swing tackle, and he’s clearly shown the coaching staff and the front office that he’s willing to do whatever it takes, adding weight and really transforming his body.
That kind of attitude will serve him well as he fights for a starting role not only this year, but also in the coming seasons. Okorafor’s contract is up after the 2024 season and there’s always a chance that Moore could take over that spot in a few years if he impresses as the team’s swing tackle once he moves to that role this season.
While he has his faults, Moore has improved a lot from his rookie and sophomore seasons. At only 24 years old he still has lots of time to continue to grow as a player, and if the team wants to transition him to right tackle in the future he seems open to it. But as Labriola points out, don’t expect Moore to push Okorafor for the starting job this season.
