It may well prove to be that the greatest impediment to Broderick Jones becoming the Pittsburgh Steelers’ left tackle of the future is the team deciding to play him there. The 2023 first-round draft pick spent most of his time on the right side as a rookie.
While he made his first start at left tackle when Dan Moore Jr. was injured, he only moved into the lineup after Chukwuma Okorafor was benched at right tackle. He remained there, through the ups and downs, for the remainder of the season.
When asked at his end-of-season press conference what the plan was for Jones moving forward, head coach Mike Tomlin admitted it was “undecided”. He expressed confidence that the Georgia product is capable of playing on either side.
But he had growing pains, not just as a rookie, but as a player inexperienced on the right side. It didn’t improve over the course of the year. Indeed, his performance in the playoffs was one of his worst for the entire season. But he’s ready to move on and ready to prepare for either option.
“I’ll be prepared for both”, he told Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, referring to either the left or right tackle position. “I’ll attack the offseason strong at both sides so I can be prepared wherever my name is called and wherever they need me”.
The vast majority of Jones’ prior experience came on the left side of the offensive line. He spent nearly all of his time preparing at left tackle throughout the offseason after the draft. It was only really after the bye week that the plan began to take shape to move him over and start him.
That is an important element to acknowledge when assessing his play. It was an in-season decision, so he didn’t have the customary amount of time to make sufficient adjustments. In the event that he is asked to play right tackle in 2024, he will have fair warning.
“I have a whole offseason to prepare for it”, he said of potentially returning to the right side. But he is confident in his abilities regardless of where he finds himself on the field. “I feel like I’ll be able to do big things”.
Acknowledging many “ups and downs” throughout his rookie season, Jones believes that he showed perseverance in navigating the challenges presented to him. He will be better for the experiences of 2023, the good and the bad.
“I’m just ready to attack the offseason with one under my belt and continue to grow and develop as a man and come back stronger”, he insisted.
Many question whether the Steelers are doing him and themselves a disservice leaving him on the right side. They know his potential on the left side, and it quite possibly, quite likely, is higher there. His ability to be equally successful on the right side is a projection. And it would be all the more galling if the decision is made because of Moore’s inability to play right tackle, weakening two positions in turn.
