Much of the attention externally entering training camp and the preseason surrounding rookie first-round tackle Broderick Jones had to do with him potentially competing for the starting left tackle job for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Internally, the focus was just one getting Jones as many reps as possible in an effort to try to get a foundation underneath him and let him grow and learn overall.
After the preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons Thursday night inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is pleased that the Steelers were able to accomplish that with Jones.
“I felt really good about the number of reps we were able to get him and that was our intention,” Tomlin said following the 24-0 win over Atlanta, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “He’s a talented young guy, but he’s a first-year guy, and those guys need as many reps as they can get and thankfully we were able to get him a lot.”
The Steelers certainly were able to get him those reps in live NFL games in-stadium, as Tomlin likes to say.
Jones played 49 snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the preseason opener on the road, and then played another 45 snaps against the Buffalo Bills last Saturday in Week Two of the preseason.
On Thursday night Jones played a large number of snaps as well. Final numbers aren’t in, but he played nearly the entire game after the starters exited after two drives.
Good news is, after some up-and-down performances in the first two preseason games, Jones closed the preseason in strong fashion. He had a big block on Anthony McFarland Jr.’s 33-yard run, helping seal the edge with tight end Darnell Washington. He then had a huge pickup on McFarland’s 5-yard touchdown run, getting a hat on a defensive back trying to shoot in off the corner late, giving McFarland time and space in the backfield to find the end zone.
Though he had some struggles throughout the preseason in pass protection, the reps are going to come in handy for Jones moving forward. Chances are he’s not going to see the field anytime soon since he wasn’t really able to push Dan Moore Jr. out of the role but having that NFL experience and giving him some tape to study and build off of is huge.
His time is coming, but for now the Steelers are pleased that they were able to give him enough looks in the preseason to build that foundation.
