Historically speaking, Cleveland Browns DL Myles Garrett hasn’t always produced statistically when facing Pittsburgh Steelers LT Dan Moore Jr. He hasn’t been shut down by any means, finding numerous ways to impact the game, but he hasn’t been delivering the splash play as often as the Browns might like.
Although the comparatively sparse numbers facing Moore paint an inaccurate picture of just what is going on in their battles, it would be disingenuous not to give the third-year tackle some credit for a job well done. His coaches certainly think he has played well overall, which is why he’s still in the lineup.
“He’s playing left tackle in the National Football League. There’s 32 of them in the world and it’s a really, really challenging job”, offensive coordinator Matt Canada said of Moore yesterday, via audio provided by the team’s media relations department. “In a lot of cases, he blocks the best rusher on the team every week and he’s certainly getting ready to do that this week”.
“I think Dan’s done a really good job”, he continued. “I think the improvement he’s made over the time he’s been here is impressive. There’s nobody that cares more or works harder, so we’re happy with what he’s done and happy for him”.
Moore’s job was seriously under threat this offseason from Broderick Jones, the Steelers’ rookie first-round draft pick. While the coaching staff deemed him not quite ready to start at the beginning of the season, he’s since actually taken over at right tackle, supplanting Chukwuma Okorafor.
A fourth-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2021, Moore has started every game of his career for which he has been healthy. He was meant to be a backup during his rookie season before a late preseason injury thrust him into the starting lineup and has kept going since then.
While he struggled quite a bit early, he has gradually improved over the past two seasons and is playing arguably the best football of his career over the past several games. One thing he’s certainly gathered is experience, already with over 2,700 career snaps played and well on track to eclipse 3,000 by season’s end.
He is under contract through 2024, though at a slightly higher cost than is currently on the books thanks to the Proven Performance Escalator due to his accrued playing time. The real question is if the team will look to extend him or allow him to play out his contract, as Okorafor did.
The biggest difference is that Moore became a starter right way. Okorafor only began starting regularly in his third season. He technically lost the battle for the starting job that summer to Zach Banner—after losing it a year earlier as well to Matt Feiler—but Banner’s injury in the first game opened the door and he’s started every game for which he has been healthy since—until the past two games, that is.
