When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to select Broderick Jones in the 2023 NFL Draft, they envisioned him as the future at left tackle. He even stepped in to replace an injured LT Dan Moore Jr. earlier this season.
However, Jones was named the starter at right tackle in a surprising move ahead of the Steelers’ Week Eight clash against the Tennessee Titans. Since being named the starter for that game, he has continued to start and play 100% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps at right tackle. During Thursday’s media availability, Jones was asked about the difficulty of playing right tackle after he had been a left tackle going back to college.
“Not the worst thing,” Jones told reporters via Steelers Live. “Not typical for me, but the more reps I get at it, the more I do, more getting comfortable with it. Just flipping the plays in my head, just going from one side to the other, just trying to forget what I knew on the left and flip everything because it’s all backwards.”
Despite being an offensive tackle, Jones had never started at right tackle even with the Georgia Bulldogs. In fact, he only logged 36 snaps at right tackle during his entire college career. That’s a lot of experience, studying, and muscle memory that he built up. Even during training camp and the preseason, Jones saw all of his action at left tackle. So to make the switch to starting at a position he never had previously (and with less than a full game worth of snaps there) was a big deal.
Jones has responded well. Per Pro Football Focus, he has a 63.4 overall grade, good for second among all rookies, behind only the Cleveland Browns’ Dawand Jones. The run game has shown new life with Jones in the lineup as well. Since he got the starting nod, the Steelers have run for at least 150 yards in every game. In fact, Jones has been in the lineup either as a starter or in relief of an injured player in five of the six games that the Steelers have run for at least 100 yards.
So for a player who has had to forget everything he knew from training camp, preseason, and the first few weeks of the season, Jones has certainly performed quite well at right tackle. He may still be the answer at left tackle long-term, but he’s proven beyond a doubt that he’s the answer at right tackle right now.
