The Pittsburgh Steelers made it a mission to improve their offensive line, starters and depth, this offseason. While they’ve held competition at offensive tackle this summer, chiefly the left side, Matt Canada is happy with all three of the team’s top options.
Speaking to reporters prior to today’s practice, Canada praised rookie OT Broderick Jones and the talent that bookends the Steelers’ offensive line.
“Man, I really like him,” Canada said of Jones via a team-issued transcript.” I think he plays super hard. I think he does everything you’d like a guy to do. He’s trying to get better every day and we’re in a fortunate situation where we’ve got three really good tackles competing for those jobs. [Chukwuma Okorafor and Dan Moore Jr.] have played a lot of football for us. And Broderick is coming in and battling. So, I credit to him for coming to work every day and he gets better every day. Broderick gets better every day. So, I think, he’ll continue to grow. And he’s got a huge, huge ceiling as he evolves into an NFL player.”
Pittsburgh moved up to acquire Jones in April’s draft, trading up from No. 17 to No. 14 in a deal with the New England Patriots. He became the first offensive tackle the team drafted in the first round since Jamain Stephens in 1996. Jones has worked this summer and his physical talent is obvious, a gifted athlete with quick feet and aggressive demeanor in the run game. Still, he’s a work-in-progress with only 19 college starts and his technique needs cleaned up, especially with his hands and punch.
Canada loosely refers to a three-man competition at tackle but it doesn’t sound like there will be a shakeup in the Steelers’ starting lineup for Week One. By all accounts, including our own training camp evaluation, Chukwuka Okorafor will serve as the team’s starting right tackle while Dan Moore Jr. will keep his left tackle spot. Moore’s progressed well this summer and is most likely to keep Jones on the bench to begin the year.
But one injury can and will change the depth chart. Pittsburgh was extremely lucky last season to suffer minimal injuries along the offensive line. The Steelers were the NFL’s only team to start the same five offensive linemen the entire season. Not only did neither miss a game but Moore and Okorafor didn’t miss a single snap in 2022. Any injury to those two should pull Jones into the lineup (it’s logical if Okorafor got hurt, Moore would flip to the right side) and give him his first professional snaps.
Pittsburgh’s depth at tackle is far better than a year ago even when you look at potential emergency situations like rookie Spencer Anderson and Dylan Cook, two young players who have held their own this summer. Overall, the Steelers’ o-line is better and thus, their offense should be, too.
