The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a spark offensively on a short week. They turned to rookie Broderick Jones, just not in the way one would think.
With third-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada moving down to the sideline after spending all of his time in the booth as offensive coordinator, the Steelers also made a lineup change, starting Jones — the No. 14 pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft — but at right tackle, benching veteran Chukwuma Okorafor.
Though head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that the Steelers just needed a spark and gave Jones a chance, Okorafor stated to reporters that he was benched due to something he said on the sideline during the Week Eight loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium.
Regardless of the reasoning, the move paid off. The Steelers had their best rushing performance of the season, racking up 155 yards and a touchdown with Jones playing a key role in some big runs, including Najee Harris’ 10-yard touchdown to open the game and Jaylen Warren’s 22-yard run late in the game that set Kenny Pickett’s game-winning touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson.
For former Steelers cornerback and current scout Ike Taylor, Jones’ performance was an impressive one on a short week, making the move from left tackle to right tackle for his first NFL start at the position. That move showed Taylor just what the Steelers saw all along with Jones, which is why they were excited to move up and get that type of talent in the draft.
“We all liked Broderick coming out of Georgia. We all liked his athleticism. We felt like Broderick didn’t have a ceiling. We felt like, for a guy to be 300-something pounds to be playing basketball, dunk, windmill, all that kind of stuff, it’s a reason why we named him ‘the dancing polar bear.’…We just felt like Broderick brought a different kind of demeanor when it came to the offensive line, brought a different kind of young, athletic, energetic demeanor on that offensive line,” Taylor said on the latest episode of the Bleav In Steelers podcast with co-host Mark Bergin, according to video via Bergin’s YouTube page. “With Broderick, what you see is what we thought we would see from a front office standpoint.
“We can talk about Broderick and just the energy he brings. Seeing him run 15, 20, 30 yards down the field whether it is a screen pass or whether he just trying to block somebody extra so his homeboy can score. Seeing him celebrate when Najee ran right past him into the end zone, yelling. It just says a lot. Like, that’s what you need.”
Jones was that athletic, raw, energetic piece coming out of Georgia who needed to be molded. The Steelers have seemingly done a good job of developing him to this point as both times he’s started for the Steelers — at left tackle against Baltimore in Week Five and against Tennessee at right tackle in Week Nine — Jones has looked really good.
In 64 snaps at right tackle, Jones graded out at a 58.8 overall, which was much lower than the film indicated, and included a 63.2 as a pass blocker and a 53.7 as a run blocker. He allowed just one pressure against the Titans and had one penalty, which was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the go-ahead touchdown from Pickett to Johnson on the ensuing PAT.
He was key in the win, especially in the run game.
On Harris’ 10-yard touchdown to open the game, Jones climbed to the second level on power base and got a hat on the Titans’ inside linebacker just enough, allowing Harris to get to the second level and barrel his way into the end zone, setting off a celebration.
That success in the run game continued throughout the night.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Steelers ran the football 10 times for 50 yards and a touchdown to the right side. Harris had six carries for 22 yards to that side of the line, while Jaylen Warren had four carries for 28 yards to the right side of the offensive line, including the 22-yard run late.
Though Jones got blown up on the play, his ability to recover and stay between the defender and Warren was key in allowing the latter to spin out and turn the corner for the explosive run.
Prior to Thursday night, the Steelers had rushed for just 107 yards on 31 carries to the right side, good for just 3.45 yards per carry, according to Pro Football Focus.
Thursday night’s showing with Jones in the lineup was a significant upgrade with the athletic, physical young piece on the field.
That energy, athleticism and motor that Jones brings to the table was on display time and time again on Thursday night, which Steelers Depot’s own Jonathan Heitritter highlighted in a film room coming out of the Week Nine win.
We’ll see if the Steelers keep Jones in the starting lineup moving forward or if the decision to bench Okorafor for a disciplinary decision was a one-week-only move.
Based on Jones’ performance though, it seems clear what the Steelers should do moving forward.
