The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will T.J. Watt supply Browns rookie T Dawand Jones with his “Welcome to the NFL” moment?
This doesn’t happen very often. An elite pass rusher is going to get back-to-back opponents who are starting reserve offensive linemen across from him. Steelers OLB T.J. Watt made 49ers RT Colton McKivitz look junior varsity this past Sunday. Can he do the same to the Cleveland Browns’ backup?
Rookie fourth-round pick Dawand Jones is now their starting right tackle after Jack Conklin was lost for the rest of the season due to injury. While all accounts wager that he held his own filling in at right tackle for most of the season opener against the likes of Sam Hubbard, there is a reason Watt was the Defensive Player of the Year the last time he was healthy for a full season.
And he certainly looked healthy in the season opener. He notched three sacks, his sixth game with three or more in his career, and he certainly wouldn’t mind repeating that feat in consecutive weeks. Only a handful of players have put up those pass-rush production numbers in back-to-back games, but things are setting up for him to have a fighting chance of doing it.
After all, there’s a reason Jones lasted to the fourth round. Yes, he has a lot of talent, but he also came in with serious question marks that knocked him all the way to the third day of the draft. And he’s making just his first career NFL start in his second game. He hasn’t seen probably the majority of the moves Watt might throw at him.
Jones got good reviews for his showing in his first game. What will the pundits be saying about him following his first encounter with one of the great players of this generation? It should be interesting to see, perhaps a prelude of a battle we will witness for the next several years.
