Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Broderick Jones made his NFL debut late in the team’s Week One loss to the San Francisco 49ers, playing left tackle after Dan Moore Jr. shifted over to right tackle following an injury to Chukwuma Okorafor. While Mike Tomlin said Okorafor will likely go in concussion protocol, Jones said he’s going to be ready if he’s needed.
“You just gotta take every week like it’s your last, just always prepare to the best of your ability. Just always be prepared because anything can happen, so just trying to stick to that method,” Jones said via Chris Adamski on Twitter.
Jones played just four snaps in Week One, all of which came in garbage time. He wasn’t really tested in any major way, but if he is called upon to go in Week Two, he’ll have a big challenge ahead of him in the form of Myles Garrett.
Garrett is one of the best pass rushers in the league, and going up against him would really be the ultimate litmus test for Jones. If he could hold his own, then the Steelers might really have something in the 14th overall pick in 2023. Either way though, it’s only one game so if Jones does play and struggles, it’s certainly not going be any sort of major issue for his long-term development. He talked about preparing for Garrett ahead of the matchup.
“I watched a little bit of his game, I’ve never really sat down and studied him since I never played against him, but that’s something I’m looking forward to this week,” he said via Steelers.com.
Jones was solid in the preseason, but Moore was able to retain his starting job. The latter he wasn’t good in Week One, graded by Pro Football Focus as the worst offensive tackle in the NFL ahead of the Monday Night games. Moore going to play next week assuming he stays healthy in practice, but the only question is whether it’s at left tackle or right tackle in place of Okorafor if he’s ruled out. But if Moore continues to struggle and Okorafor gets healthy in the coming weeks, then it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Jones take over as the starter at left tackle.
Ideally, Moore’s Week One performance was just an anomaly going up against one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing teams and front sevens in general. Garrett and the Browns bring another impressive front. In addition to Garrett, they added pass rushers Za’Darius Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo this offseason, while also drafting Isaiah McGuire. Regardless of who’s on the field, it’s going to be a big test to keep Kenny Pickett upright after a disastrous Week One.
