Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick OT Broderick Jones got his first game experience tonight in Pittsburgh’s 27-17 win in their preseason opener over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked his thoughts on how Jones played in his post-game press conference, and he was generally happy with how Jones handled things.
“Gave him a big exposure, I like his demeanor, I like how he finished. We’ll comb through the specific, look at hand usage and how he mixed up his protections and some of the things that are very technical that are a major component of this level of play,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel.
Jones generally looked solid but did get beat for a sack by Tampa’s Markees Watts, who was able to force a fumble against Tanner Morgan. Jones’ biggest concern coming into the league was his technique and hand usage on his pass sets, but outside of the one play, Jones seemed to look solid.
It’s the first game of the preseason, so you can’t jump to conclusions one way or the other. Jones is still locked in a battle with Dan Moore Jr. for the starting left tackle job, and one game isn’t going to determine the winner. The work the two have already put in and will continue to put in during practice, plus the remaining two preseason games will determine the winner of the battle.
But it’s a good sign for Jones that Tomlin was initially at least somewhat impressed with what he saw. The biggest thing for rookies in their first game is to not be intimidated by the bigger stage, and it doesn’t seem as if Jones was. There’s going to be more to hit on his performance when there’s a chance to dig through the tape, but the early returns don’t look too bad. He had a nice seal to keep the pocket clean at one point.
As a whole, the rookie class looked solid. Keeanu Benton made some nice plays before leaving with an injury, Darnell Washington blocked well and had a catch, while Spencer Anderson showed off some versatility and Nick Herbig led the way with 1.5 sacks. It’s a class that got a lot of praise pre-draft and that praise has continued into training camp, and for the most part the rookie draft picks showed why.
Again, you can’t take too much from one preseason game, but this a class to watch closely for the rest of the preseason and the rest of training camp. As for Jones, he’ll be more under the microscope as the team’s 1st round pick, especially considering the position battle with Moore. He can’t have more plays like the rep he lost against Watts, and I’m sure he’ll be working with Pat Meyer this week to correct what went wrong on that rep.
But the first step toward succeeding is having the right attitude and not letting the moment get the best of you, and it doesn’t really seem like Jones did. He’s definitely going to be someone to keep a close eye on next week when the Steelers play host to the Buffalo Bills in their second preseason game.
