The left tackle battle in training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers between veteran Dan Moore Jr. and rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones is one that is under a lot of scrutiny in Latrobe, all eyes glued to a position of weakness a year ago.
While Jones is the hot commodity and the clear future at the position in the Black and Gold, teammates have taken notice of the way Moore — a two-year starter for the Steelers — has embraced the adversity and the challenge of the position battle that has put his job in jeopardy.
One such player is fellow offensive lineman James Daniels. Speaking with 93.7 The Fan’s Jeff Hatthorn following a practice at Saint Vincent College, Daniels spoke glowingly of Moore, praising him for the work he’s put in and getting better each and every day. He added that Moore has his total respect, which is massive within the locker room overall.
“Dan’s been a professional. We understand what’s happening. That’s a very tough spot to be in. But just one thing about Dan I’ve seen is like Dan has came into work every day and got significantly better. It’s crazy,” Daniels said to Hatthorn, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “His improvement from last year, the Browns game to Week One of OTAs and to Week Four of minicamp and then to now…he’s significantly better. It’s insane improvement he’s made.”
Throughout his young career, Moore has steadily improved, though it still hasn’t been good enough from the Steelers’ perspective, which led Pittsburgh to go out and trade up for Jones, moving up from No. 17 overall to No. 14 with the New England Patriots to land the former Georgia standout in the first round.
Moore took it as a challenge, rather than accepting his fate like left guard Kevin Dotson did when the Steelers signed veteran Isaac Seumalo. Moore put in the work, showing up to OTAs looking like he has a stronger, thicker base and with clear definition in his arms now. In an NFL weight training and nutrition program, it’s noticeable the transformation Moore has undergone the last few years.
How, exactly, that will help him in his battle with Jones is anyone’s guess. But it’s clear Moore aimed to do whatever it took 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.
He put in the work, too, and teammates like Daniels have taken notice.
“He has my total respect. Growing up when I came in the league, I just wanted to earn the respect of the other veteran linemen in the room. He has my respect and he’s a good player,” Daniels said to Hatthorn, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “I really think he’s a really good player. I really think the media and the fans, they treat him unfairly, but I really think he’s a good player.”
Moore has dealt with some serious criticism in recent years, which hasn’t been all that fair at times. Left tackle is a difficult position to play in Pittsburgh, considering the history at the position and the history of the quarterback position overall in the franchise. Moore has dealt with that criticism and intense scrutiny over the last two seasons.
On the field, 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 pressures last season, resulting in 22 hurries, 10 quarterback hits and seven sacks. The seven sacks matched 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.
While Moore has the respect from his fellow linemen like Daniels, that only goes so far in a position battle. Chances are, Jones will eventually surpass Moore for the starting job at left tackle. When that occurs remains to be seen, but he’s not for long at left tackle. Good news is he has the respect of teammates and has shown the willingness to learn right tackle in hopes of being that swing guy and potentially pushing Chukwuma Okorafor next season for the starting job there.
