Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said in his final press conference that he had not yet decided on which side he will play Broderick Jones in his second season. Drafted in the first round to be a foundational tackle, he spent most of the year starting at right tackle. The conversation all offseason prior to that point, however, revolved around him manning the blind side.
General manager Omar Khan did not commit to where the Steelers opt to play Jones in 2024 either, however. But he deviated from Tomlin substantially in stating clearly Jones’ future is at left tackle. Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette read a lot into the forcefulness of that comment, speaking to Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller on 93.7 The Fan last week.
“After Omar said that, I can’t really see them playing Broderick on the right side again”, he said. “Is a right tackle at number 20 more in play now? Could Dan Moore [Jr.] move over to the right side? Is Spencer Anderson involved in that?”.
Moore has started every game of his career for which he has dressed at left tackle over three seasons. He fell into the starting lineup due to injury, however, not by winning the job. He held Jones off in a training camp battle last year, but then the right tackle spot opened up.
Under the guise of disciplinary measures, Chukwuma Okorafor found himself on the bench and Jones starting ahead of him. They made that switch midseason even though Jones had little time to adjust to right tackle. Although they played him on the right side a bit during the offseason, nearly all of his work came on the left. After all, they wanted to see if he could win the left tackle job.
The Steelers since released Okorafor, so now the question becomes, how do you get Jones to the left side? Even Tomlin said Moore is significantly better on the left side. But he will certainly give it a go if it’s the difference between starting and sitting.
Many have Georgia T Amarius Mims as a first-round candidate for the Steelers, Jones’ college teammate. He has limited college starting experience, so like Jones they may not trust him to play right away. There may well be a plug-and-play starting right tackle at 20, though, which Fittipaldo thinks is very much in play.
“I think right tackle at number 20 is more in play than ever, but don’t discount center”, he said. “Don’t discount corner either. I think they’re gonna take the highest player on their board when it comes time at one of those three positions”.
The Steelers won’t say publicly that Jones’ ceiling is higher on the left side than the right side. They don’t even know if they believe that, honestly, as they talk up his position versatility. Nothing’s saying he can’t develop into a Pro Bowl right tackle. But they drafted him to play left tackle for the next decade or more. Most prefer to get him over there sooner rather than later.
