It was a rough week for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That includes the entire defense, QB Kenny Pickett, and an offensive line that, on paper, looked better than a year ago. Among the worst offenders up front was LT Dan Moore Jr. According to Pro Football Focus, he graded out as the worst tackle so far in Week One, 75th out of 75 qualifiers with the Monday night game still to go.
As PFF notes, it charted Moore with allowing six hurries, two hits, and one of the five sacks on Pickett. Moore struggled to handle Nick Bosa and his speed-to-power, a problem he’s had throughout his career. Moore has started every game at left tackle for the Steelers since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. While he’s shown growth, he’s not likely to rise to the ranks of being a stud left tackle and performances like yesterday validate that notion.
We’ll have to dig into the All-22 to see if the TV tape painted an accurate picture of his performance. Moore was hardly alone in grading out poorly, C Mason Cole was also given low marks by PFF, and the entire Steelers’ offense had a dud of a day.
Moore’s status for Week Two remains uncertain. He’ll continue to start but with RT Chukwuma Okorafor in concussion protocol, it’s possible he sees action against the Cleveland Browns next Monday night on the right side of the football. Moore slid over and finished yesterday’s game at right tackle after Okorafor was taken off the field, the coaches inserting rookie Broderick Jones into the lineup for his first NFL snaps.
Okorafor graded out much better, charged for just one hurry and a 60.6 grade overall. In a small sample size of just four snaps, Jones received a grade of 63.1. Compare that to Moore’s 33.7.
But if Okorafor is cleared and able to play Monday night (the extra day helps) then Moore will see plenty of DE Myles Garrett. Garrett had a strong season debut in the team’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals, finishing with four quarterback hits and one sack. It’ll be one of the toughest challenges Moore has on the year, at least, until he faces Garrett again later in the season.
Should Moore struggle for a second week, there will be increased chatter to see Jones. Moore easily won the job in camp, looking more technical and refined, but first-round rookies – especially linemen – don’t sit for long.
