The Broderick Jones Era at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is off to a solid start.
Making his first career NFL start on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium, Jones had a solid showing overall for the Black and Gold. Playing 66 snaps against the Ravens, Jones allowed just one pressure in 38 pass blocking reps, good for a game of 67.0, and graded out well as a run blocker with a 77.2 grade in that category from Pro Football Focus in 28 snaps.
Jones’ overall grade of 74.8 was a good enough to make him the second-highest graded first-round offensive tackle from PFF in Week Five, just behind Chicago’s Darnell Wright, who was selected at No. 10 by the Bears and graded out at a 75.4 overall in Week Five.
“Jones’ first NFL start was a success. His 74.8 overall grade and 77.2 run-blocking grade led all Steelers offensive linemen by a wide margin. He also allowed just one hurry and lost one other pass-blocking rep,” PFF’s Dalton Wasserman writes. “He flashed nice footwork in the zone running game and moved linebackers off their spot on multiple occasions. His performance is a positive sign, considering he barely played in the first three games.”
The Steelers slow-played Jones after moving up to No. 14 overall in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to land him out of Georgia. He was able to sit and learn behind incumbent left tackle Dan Moore Jr., adjusting to the rigors of the day-to-day life in the NFL. That process of sitting, learning and biding his time has paid off as Jones has looked ready in his first two weeks of extended action.
Coming on early in the Week Four loss to the Houston Texans on the road due to a knee injury to Moore, Jones played 51 snaps against the Texans and held his own, though he did allow three pressures. Preparing as the starter for Sunday though helped Jones as he was ready to go from the jump and looked quite comfortable and confident on the field.
That’s an encouraging sign for the Steelers. He played with real physicality in the run game and held up well against veteran pass rushers Kyle Van Noy and Jadeveon Clowney. Pretty promising for his first career start and an encouraging one for Jones moving forward.
We’ll see what the status of Moore is coming out of the Week Six bye week, but right now it certainly feels like Jones has seized upon the opportunity and taken the job away.
