When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to land Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, they did so in hopes of shoring up the left side of the offensive line in front of second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett rather quickly.
They didn’t move up to have him sit on the bench, or so the belief is.
On Friday during Day Two of Steelers Training Camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Jones got a look at some first-team reps, according to 93.7 The Fan’s Jeff Hatthorn, taking the place of Dan Moore Jr. late in practice for a few snaps.
As ESPN’s Brooke Pryor points out, Jones took some snaps with the first team late in a session before staying on the field with the second team at left tackle, getting a ton of work in under offensive line coach Pat Meyer.
“You never know with coaches,” Jones said to reporters after practice when asked about getting reps with the first team, according to Hatthorn. “They may tell you to just go in. You may be in the bed up there and they will tell you to go in. You never know when they throw you in so you have to be prepared and have that open mind to go in and perform to the best of your ability.”
In his reps with the first team, Jones found himself going up against the likes of Markus Golden, getting a quick introduction to the NFL against a savvy veteran outside linebacker.
While it was just a few first-team reps, it’s worth noting that the Steelers are starting to seemingly work him in slowly but surely with the first unit, which bodes well for his chances to beat out Moore for the starting job.
It’s still very, very early in camp, but Jones is the left tackle of future. When that future starts depends on Jones’ play on the field. But so far he’s at least showing enough early to start receiving some first-team reps.
