First-round rookie Broderick Jones might be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ new Ferrari. Sleek, fast, and a shiny new player. If that’s the case, call Dan Moore Jr. the Toyota Corolla. Not flashy, very workmanlike, but reliable and will run forever. In what was viewed as the biggest training camp battle of the Steelers’ summer, Moore dominated the first-team reps and never took a single rep with the twos. Roughly 95 percent of his snaps came as the first-string left tackle with the remainder a handful of first-string right tackle snaps. If the season started today, Moore would open up the year as the Steelers’ left tackle.
In an insightful interview from The Trib’s Tim Benz with Pittsburgh’s offensive line coach Pat Meyer that aired Friday, Meyer discussed Moore’s growth. Meyer said he liked Moore coming out of Texas A&M — he worked with him at the Senior Bowl and praised his maturity — and has seen accelerated growth since becoming his coach in Pittsburgh last season. Specifically, Meyer praised Moore’s work ethic.
“He probably trains as well as anyone,” Meyer told Benz. “He trains like he’s a 10th-year guy…a lot of linemen don’t get it until their third, fourth year.”
Meyer told the story of talking with a 12-year Pro Bowl lineman who once told him he didn’t “get it” until his fourth or fifth season in the league. The NFL is starved for offensive line talent. It’s underdeveloped in the college game for a variety of reasons. Simplified spread systems that don’t ask a lot out of the tackles, a lack of good coaching, and the difficulty in finding athletes to match with the freaks who play along the defensive line.
Drafted in the fourth round in 2021, Moore was thrust into action his first year — ready or not — when Zach Banner suffered a setback while returning from his torn ACL. Since, Moore has started all 34 games he’s appeared in and, as Meyer sees it, gotten better.
“I got here and we changed a few things up from a technique standpoint. We changed up a bunch. And the scheme changed a little bit. Saw his progression,” Meyer said. “It was progressively getting better and better. Slow process, we get it. He’s a young kid. He’s still young. He’s only in his third year now.”
Slow progress has been our summation, too. Moore’s play picked up the latter half of last season and he ended his sophomore season allowing 5.5 sacks, down from 7.5 as a rookie. His run blocking also improved, throwing key down blocks to help breathe life into the Steelers’ running game down the stretch.
For Meyer, he sees a player who is putting in extra hours to get better.
“I think Dan just studies it. He works in the offseason. He trains year round,” Meyer said. “He goes to people and trains with people, with other offensive linemen. So he learns little tricks of the trade he can apply to his game.”
Earlier this year, Moore discussed his goal to get better defending power and bull rushes. It’s been the biggest issue of his career, getting run back into the pocket.
Though it’s a relatively limited sample size, Moore has looked better this summer. After a couple of tough padless days facing Alex Highsmith, he had a solid last two weeks to end camp and had no issues on his lone drive in Pittsburgh’s preseason opener. Overall, Meyer’s been impressed with Moore’s approach, just as he was when he first met him coming out of college.
“I could just see his body type looked better,” Meyer said of seeing Moore this year. “He looked stronger, bigger, harder to me. He worked on some of the things we talked about in the offseason.”
Meyer said the things they talked about was hand placement but also the timing of his hands, a crucial element to Meyer’s philosophy of gaining “first significant contact.” While Moore has been a tireless worker, Meyer has proven to be a great teacher and the right man for the job. Though he lacks the Hall of Fame resume of a Mike Munchak, Meyer’s quiet, teach-first personality has built up a changing Steelers line. They went through major growing pains adjusting to Meyer’s system last year but have come out on the other side, a group that looks more comfortable and upgraded in talent by adding LG Isaac Seumalo, who has had a solid camp.
It’s doubtful Pittsburgh will enjoy the remarkably good health it had last season when all five starters played all 17 games, the only team in the league to say that. Depth will be tested. But the Steelers’ line looks to be in a good place, at least a better one, and as Mason Cole recently said, it sets the tone for the rest of the offense. Again, listen to the entire interview here.
