Who will be the starting left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first game of the regular season? Anybody who says they know right now is lying or foolish or a combination of both. And there is a good number of people unusually confident in either camp—incumbent Dan Moore Jr. or rookie Broderick Jones—being the Day-One starter.
Having an educated opinion, of course, is another matter entirely, and reading the team’s history you can really draw any conclusion you want before the pads come on—which The Athletic reporter Mark Kaboly conceded in spite of his tendency to lean toward believing Moore will be the Week-One starter.
“I do think it right now”, he told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller on 93.7 The Fan. “I could totally change my mind the first time I see Broderick Jones smack somebody upside the head and get out pulling on the left side clearing the way and I’m thinking, ‘Oh Jeez, maybe this is better this way’”.
“But as if now, I just think they’re gonna err on the side of caution right now and just see what happens with Dan Moore”, he went on, acknowledging Jones starting is only a matter of time. “I just want the best guy out there if I’m the Steelers Week One”.
Moore has two years of starting experience since being drafted out of Texas A&M in the fourth round in 2021. Jones, on the other hand, comes from a very successful Georgia program as the 14th-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Though his starting experience at the college level is somewhat limited, Jones possesses enormous upside, which is precisely why the Steelers needed—or felt the need—to trade up three spots in the first round to make sure they got him as the top tackles were coming off the board.
You’re not going to trade up in the first round for a player and then never even give him a look in the starting lineup, a fact that everybody, including Moore, has acknowledged. While it’s a question of when rather than if, however, it’s still a question, and one we don’t have an answer to yet.
“The question I want to know is if Dan Moore comes out and has a spectacular first week, do you still move Broderick Jones in there as a first-team-rep guy?”, Kaboly asked. “They’ve done that in the past, but there’s also times where they haven’t done that when there’s competition on the offensive line.”
In terms of gaining needed experience, Jones will likely get those reps no matter what, as even if he’s not starting, he would have to be the swing tackle. But what does happen if Moore just seizes hold of the starting job right away and never lets go?
Is it Moore’s job to lose? Is it Jones’ job to win, at least as far as the opening game of the regular season goes? Frankly, I’m not sure I particularly care. It’s a good problem to have, because either way it should mean an improvement upon the past two years of play. One would hope that if Moore is still starting come Week One, it’s because he has grown from last season.
