The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of talented players, with multiple All-Pros on their defense and an offense led by QB Kenny Pickett, RB Najee Harris, and WRs Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. When coming up with a potential team MVP, one of those players is likely to flash through the minds of Steelers fans. But CBS Sports took a different route, naming rookie first-round pick OT Broderick Jones as their pick to be the Steelers’ MVP in 2023.
“After Pittsburgh traded up for the right to draft the Georgia product, he’s now in the running to start on Day 1 as the club’s left tackle as he’s set to battle with Dan Moore Jr. during camp. At 6-foot-5, 311 pounds, Jones has the ideal size to be an elite starting tackle in the NFL. If he can even scratch the surface of his potential in Year 1, that’ll do wonders for Pickett and his own development. That’s particularly true when Jones plays in a division with Myles Garrett, Za’Darius Smith, Sam Hubbard, Trey Hendrickson, and Odafe Oweh,” Tyler Sullivan writes.
It’s a curious pick just because there’s a chance that Jones doesn’t see the field much at all during his rookie season. With training camp due to start later this week, we don’t have a strong base of knowledge to say how well Jones is playing compared to Moore, and if Moore wins the starting LT job, Jones’ role is going to be extremely limited.
But if he wins the job, and plays well, it’s a nice off-the-radar selection. Jones’ play could certainly help elevate the play of those around him, as could the rest of the revamped offensive line.
But with Jones’ athleticism and size, he could be a true difference maker, particularly in the run game. Keeping the pocket clean for Pickett is obviously also a key to helping his development, and if Jones can refine his technique when it comes to pass-blocking, he could be a big help in a lot of phases of the offense.
It’s obviously way too early to make a prediction about who the Steelers’ MVP will be since the team hasn’t even arrived in Latrobe for training camp yet. But if Jones does win the job, his play is going to be pretty important to Pittsburgh’s success. It’s not a bad pick, and it sure beats reading about Pickett being the team’s MVP/breakout player for the umpteenth time this offseason.
So I like this prediction of Jones. Pittsburgh obviously valued him as a prospect, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he was the team’s starting left tackle. If he loses the job in training camp, then he can work on his development to make an impact down the line. But for now, I think if Jones starts he could really help open up a lot that Pittsburgh’s offense wants to do, hence making him a solid selection to be the team’s potential MVP.
