The game against the Baltimore Ravens was the first of many starts to come for young Pittsburgh Steelers LT Broderick Jones. Only it does not appear that his next start is imminent. So far, all signs point toward Dan Moore Jr. returning to the starting lineup after missing one game due to a knee injury.
Taken 14th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Jones’s status as the future of the left tackle position in Pittsburgh was unquestioned from the moment Pittsburgh was on the clock in the first round. But the future does not appear to be now. And Jones is taking it in stride.
“No reaction”, he said yesterday, when asked how he would respond if he were to learn that he was not the Steelers’ starting left tackle, via the team’s website. “It’s the same as always. Continue to get better. That’s always my mindset”.
Although not quite a “developmental” prospect in the sense of a player who would need significant time to develop either physically or mentally, Jones did arrive in the league as inexperienced and somewhat raw. It wasn’t a surprise that he didn’t start on opening day.
But coming out of the bye week and having shown well in his first start against the Ravens, it’s become a widespread topic as it appears the Steelers will be going back to Moore now that he is healthy. The third-year left year has struggled throughout his career—which is what prompted the team to draft Jones in the first place.
The rookie does have 121 snaps under his belt now, including one full start and most of the previous game after Moore hurt his knee. He also got four snaps at the end of the season opener due to an injury to RT Chukwuma Okorafor.
But as far as he’s concerned, in terms of his development, it matters little whether he’s starting or sitting, because he knows he can learn and grow in any situation. “As far as I can think of, really nothing, for real”, he said, when asked about the impact on his confidence level following his successful first start.
“I treat every week the same”, he added. “I go in every week [the same] because you never know [what can happen]. You’re always one play away, so you’ve just got to treat every week the same”.
It’s worth noting that Jones did credit the opportunity for him to sit on the bench and watch at the start of the season as playing a key role in his personal development. “I feel like that was a big asset to me”, he said, crediting his offensive line coaches for honing his skills, one by one, when he didn’t have to prepare for specific opponents to such a great extent.
While nothing is yet official, it does appear that he will continue to have that extra time in practice to work on his fundamentals when he is not working on the specifics of game-plan preparation for an upcoming opponent.
