Pittsburgh Steelers OT Broderick Jones had a pretty solid NFL debut, and one reason why he was prepared for his first appearance is the quality of pass rushers he faces in practice every day. Jones singled out veteran OLB Markus Golden as a player who’s helped make him better.
“When Markus first got here, we always used to work together so much. I feel like he prepared me a lot since the beginning of camp. So it’s always just a good matchup between us,” Jones said via Amanda Godsey on YouTube. “I love being able to go up against a vet like that. I’m gonna give him work, he’s gonna give me work at the end of the day, we’re trying to get better.”
Golden’s been in the league since the 2015 season, so there isn’t a lot that he hasn’t seen. He knows how to get a rookie offensive tackle up to speed, and he was in Arizona when the Cardinals tried to develop a first-round offensive tackle in D.J. Humphries while also spending time in New York when the Giants drafted Andrew Thomas. While neither set the world on fire, both have developed into Pro Bowl-quality players, with Thomas becoming a second-team All-Pro last season.
Golden’s seen development from its very early stages for some very good offensive linemen. He knows how to push Jones and make him a better player. It’s a good matchup for both of them, with Golden getting tested by a younger and more athletic Jones, and Jones going up against a savvy veteran who’s had a lot of success at the NFL level and seen a lot of young tackles.
Obviously, any sort of live reps that Jones can get will help him and keep his development on the right track. Each matchup has its strengths. Jones can learn how to counter a variety of pass rush moves going up against Alex Highsmith and his expanding arsenal, while a matchup against Nick Herbig provides two hungry rookies eager to see playing time duke it out against each other.
Jones saw a lot of action on Friday night against the Buccaneers, playing 49 snaps. While his Pro Football Focus metrics weren’t great, with just a 61.7 overall grade, it was an encouraging debut to see Jones mostly hold his own. He’s still battling Dan Moore Jr. for the starting left tackle job, but the more Jones can learn from his teammates and incorporate that on the field, the better he’ll be.
