First-round pick Broderick Jones made his first appearance as a Pittsburgh Steeler Friday night. While he wasn’t the starter at left tackle, subbing in for veteran Dan Moore Jr., Jones played nearly starter-level snaps. He saw the majority of the offensive snaps at left tackle in the team’s 27-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and overall, held his own. Speaking to reporters after the game, Jones evaluated his performance.
“It was pretty good,” Jones told reporters as shared by Steelers.com. “Wasn’t too bad. Couple plays I wish I had back, but for the most part it was, it was what I expected it to be.”
We won’t have the official charting until tomorrow, but Jones saw a healthy number of reps along the offensive line. He likely played more snaps up front than any other Steeler. Pittsburgh traded up for Jones in the 2023 NFL Draft, moving from 17 to 14 and he became the first tackle the Steelers have selected in the first round since Jamain Stephens in 1996.
Grading his performance won’t be possible until the All-22 comes out but at first glance, Jones seemed to play well. He showed his athleticism and ability to get into his pass set, making life hard for defenders to beat him around the edge. We posted one such example during the game, keeping the pocket clean for QB Mason Rudolph to step up into.
As offensive line coach Pat Meyer teaches, the offensive linemen are supposed to make a “bowl shape” in their protection. The tackles are responsible for the width of the pocket while the interior linemen are responsible for the depth. Center Kendrick Green struggled to do the latter but Jones took care of business on this one rep.
Of course, it wasn’t a perfect performance by Jones, and we’ll comb through the tape to see where he can improve. Throughout camp, he had more difficulty with power and bull rushes, his hands getting too wide and allowing defenders into his chest. Watching the game live, that seemed to be more of an issue than speed rushes.
But head coach Mike Tomlin seemed pleased with Jones’ first time out. Assuming Tomlin keeps feeling that way, Jones won’t be out of the running to be the Steelers’ starting left tackle, though Moore still appears to be the favorite.
