The 2023 season was a decent rookie year for Pittsburgh Steelers’ right tackle Broderick Jones, whom the team traded up in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to acquire at No. 14 overall out of the University of Georgia.
Jones, who was inserted into the starting lineup ahead of the Week Nine matchup on Thursday Night Football against the Tennessee Titans, showed flashes of promise as a run blocker and in pass protection. He brought a real physical element and nastiness to the Steelers’ offensive line room, something they desperately needed.
But like most rookies in the NFL, Jones hit that proverbial rookie wall late in the season and really struggled down the stretch. Those struggles were amplified in the Wild Card Round loss to the Buffalo Bills on the road.
Jones graded out at just a 36.9 overall from Pro Football Focus in the Wild Card loss, including a 47.5 as a run blocker and a 25.9 in pass protection. Jones was charged with five pressures, one quarterback hit, and allowed a sack against the Bills. Pass rushers like Gregory Rousseau, Leonard Floyd, and Von Miller really gave Jones fits, resulting in a rather ugly performance that ended his first season in the NFL on a real down note.
PFF’s grades weren’t kind, and neither was the film for Jones, especially from a pass-blocking standpoint.
Let’s dive into the tape.
Jones started out the game strong from a pass-blocking perspective. He took the fight to the Bills from a pass-blocking perspective and really started fast.
On the first drive of the game, Jones found himself matched up against Floyd on the right side of the Steelers’ offense. Though the Steelers run a screen to running back Jaylen Warren, Jones is aggressive in his pass set, taking the fight to Lloyd.
Jones locks up Floyd and controls him on the screen, completely taking him out of the play early on.
However, Jones has to learn to finish plays better, especially longer developing plays like screens. He does a great job initially completely negating Floyd as a pass rusher, but then he gets a bit lax, allowing Floyd to get back into the play. Fortunately, Warren forces Floyd to miss in space, leading to a decent gain for the Steelers.
Later on in the first quarter Jones found himself matched up against the future Hall of Famer in Miller off the edge.
Jones does a nice job of getting depth in his pass set, creating a hard edge for Miller to try and win around.
Sound hand usage to get inside and control Miller, working him upfield to help create a clean pocket for quarterback Mason Rudolph. But there was one concerning sign from the rep from Jones that would end up being a serious issue throughout the game: ducking his head at the point of contact.
It’s been an issue for Jones throughout the last month and has really given him issues. Defenders have noticed it on tape and have tried to exploit it. The Bills did on Monday.
It ended up being Floyd that beat him when he ducked his head.
Watch late in the rep how Jones goes to throw hands at Floyd and ducks his head in the process. That takes away his ability to see what he’s hitting, which leads to Floyd knocking down Jones’ hands. That allows Floyd to turn the corner and get a clean rush on Rudolph, leading to a quarterback hit just as the ball is coming out.
Fortunately for the Steelers, Rudolph was able to still complete the pass to Warren. But it was an ugly rep from Jones in a game filled with them.
Watch here how a few reps later Jones goes to duck his head again just before the point of contact against Miller.
Miller throws a hand into Jones’ chest just at the perfect time, stunning the young lineman and taking away his ability to get his hands on Miller.
That quick stab to the chest took away Jones’ punch, giving Miller an easy path around the rookie tackle to get a hit on Rudolph.
The ducking of the head is very concerning with Jones. You simply can’t play like that in the NFL. He found that out the hard way in the playoffs.
Keep a close eye on Jones’ helmet here against Miller late in the game. Just as he’s preparing for contact with Miller, watch the way he ducks his head down.
You know the old saying when it comes to ducking your head in football: can’t hit what you can’t see. Miller pulled out a quick, efficient spin move against Jones just as he ducked his head, allowing Miller to spin inside and get a bit of a shot in on Rudolph, who surprisingly spun out of the hit.
Jones also found out that you can’t give up the inside so easily against a high-level pass rusher like Gregory Rousseau.
Late in the first half, Jones gave up the inside far too easily while trying to quick-set Rousseau. That gave the former first-round pick a sliver of space, allowing him to win inside with a quick club/swim, sacking Rudolph and putting the Steelers in a 2nd and 23 while trailing 14-0.
A very, very rough showing from Jones in the pass-blocking department.
