In just his second NFL start at right tackle, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Broderick Jones certainly passed the eye test throughout the 23-19 win over the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium in Week 10.
Yet, the grades from Pro Football Focus seemingly tell a different story.
Despite playing a major role in the Steelers rushing for a season-high 205 yards and two touchdowns, Jones graded out at just a 55.3 overall from PFF in Week 10. That low grade made him the worst-graded offensive lineman for the Steelers despite a rather dominant showing against the Packers and keeps Jones as the second-highest graded rookie offensive tackle in the league behind fellow first-round pick Darnell Wright in Chicago.
Jones sits at a 61.6 overall on the season, while Wright holds a grade of 63.1, though he graded out at a 55.7 in Week 10 on Thursday Night Football against the Carolina Panthers.
For Jones, the poor grade comes after a tough matchup against Green Bay standout edge rusher Rashan Gary. However, Jones allowed just one pressure on the day.
“Jones made his second start at right tackle and endured a tough matchup with Rashan Gary. To Jones’ credit, he allowed only one pressure, but he lost five other reps in pass protection. Five of those six total occurrences came against Gary as Jones struggled with the outside speed rush,” PFF’s Dalton Wasserman writes. “Jones faltered in the run game, as well, although there were times when his athleticism flashed. Adjusting to a new position is tough. It’s even tougher when facing a player of Rashan Gary‘s caliber.”
It seems rather strange that PFF would knock Jones, considering Gary had just one pressure on the afternoon. He was also limited to just three tackles (one solo) and graded out at a 64.3 as. pass rusher and a 79.1 overall. The one pressure was the lowest number of pressures Gary has had in a game this season, which is quite remarkable for Jones to hold him to in just his second start, yet he was docked significantly.
Somehow though, despite one pressure, PFF gave Gary a 26.3% pass-rush win rate, which was the highest of all EDGE rushers for the Packers in Sunday’s matchup.
Despite some of the numbers from PFF, Jones was rather good against the Packers. His athleticism was on display throughout the game as a run blocker. The Steelers pulled him quite a bit and asked him to get to the second level as well. He was a force, a real furniture mover. That matters.
Add in the fact that he allowed just one pressure against a pass rusher the caliber of Gary, it’s rather impressive what the rookie did in just his second start at the position.
He’s only going to get better. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Jones as the highest-graded rookie offensive tackle in the NFL — and soon.
