The Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to draft Broderick Jones in the 2023 NFL Draft as their left tackle of the future, but at least for now, Dan Moore Jr. remains their left tackle of the present. Jones cracked the starting lineup over Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle, but everyone wants to know when he moves over.
Assuming that he is moved over. Jones believes that he can be successful on either the left side or the right side. He should grow in consistency with a full offseason under his belt on either side. Despite playing most of his snaps at right tackle, he didn’t get much work there during the offseason. But Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes he may be starting out there yet again.
“I think ideally Broderick Jones is your left tackle Day One next season”, he told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller this week on 93.7 The Fan. “The only issue I have is…Dan Moore is much better on the left side than he is on the right side. Then it just comes down to doing what’s best for the other 52 guys on your roster”.
The Steelers released Okorafor, so if Moore can’t play on the right side, they don’t have a current alternative. Unless somebody like Spencer Anderson comes out of nowhere and proves he can handle it, they have to find somebody.
Many are connecting Jones’ college teammate Amarius Mims as that somebody. But even assuming they draft him, as a first-round pick, he’s no lock as a Day One starter.
“Amarius Mims, you know how many college starts he has on his resume? That’s right, eight”, Fittipaldo pointed out. That’s less experience than Jones had coming out, and he failed to win a starting role right away. Fittipaldo called it “a clear sign that he’s not gonna step in and play right away”.
In that scenario, he argues, you’re keeping Jones at right tackle until you can trust Mims to play. The alternative is moving Moore to the right side where he’s looked substantially worse. There are other options, of course. They could sign a mid-priced veteran as a stopgap starter. But are the Steelers likely to do that? Perhaps not after talking up Jones’ versatility.
“That’s the luxury that they have because Broderick Jones can play both sides”, Fittipaldo said. “If they draft somebody that they have a high opinion of…They can bring that guy along slowly. Dan Moore can play left tackle for half the season like they did with Broderick Jones. Then you move Broderick Jones over and you slide that guy in when he’s ready”.
He added, “It’s not all about what’s best for Broderick Jones. It’s about what’s best for the football team”. Of course, you can argue that getting Jones at left tackle as soon as possible is what’s best for the team. Most people seem to share that opinion. But the fact remains that the Steelers need to have someone who can start at right tackle if they do that. Right now, they presumably don’t have that guy.
