It’s only the second week of OTAs. Real football is still months away. Maybe it’s the vacuum of the offseason, but I can’t help but feel uneasy about the road the Pittsburgh Steelers are heading down with Broderick Jones. Yet again, the Steelers are taking a messy path with Jones’ position.
It’s far from the first time. Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green, and the same is happening with Troy Fautanu. Investing in the offensive line only to flip-flop them early in their career, toying around with versatility instead of stability. To summarize, here’s the timeline of how and where Jones has been used.
– Practiced left and right tackle in college but primarily left tackle in-game at Georgia
– Drafted to be the Steelers left tackle
– Worked nearly exclusively at left tackle throughout training camp and preseason
– First regular season snaps came at left tackle
– Flipped to right tackle on short week to replace Chukwuma Okorafor
– Finished out season at right tackle
– Omar Khan says his goal is moving Jones back to left tackle
– Jones works at left and right tackle during the first week of OTAs; uncertain where the team wants him during the season
Round and round we go. Where is Broderick Jones playing this year? I don’t know. He doesn’t know. The team doesn’t know. Some of that depends on Troy Fautanu’s progress and his flip to right tackle where he admits it’s been an adjustment. Ideally, your first-round tackles start, and if Fautanu is going to play on the right side, then Jones will obviously play on the left.
My point is: Just get him all the reps there. Let him act like the starting left tackle of this team, not this swingman floating from side to side. Sure, Jones says he doesn’t care, but he’s saying all the right things. Last year, he was more honest about wanting to play left tackle.
It’s great Pittsburgh has invested so much in its offensive line. Sincere applause, it’s refreshing to see. But they can’t keep drafting prospects and immediately play them away from their college position without consequences. And if they are going to do that, they have to pick a spot and stick with it.
The Steelers love wavering. Bounce a player from here to there back to where they started. How much it stunts development depends on the player, but it sure doesn’t help them. Not for young players in new offenses.
I defend Dan Moore Jr. more than most. More than probably anyone else. But there’s no question his presence, unwilling or unable to play right tackle, has created an obstacle the Steelers have tried to work around. He simply isn’t talented enough to put up that kind of roadblock.
If Broderick Jones is going to be the left tackle, be the left tackle. He’s not a seasoned vet who can live without reps. He’s still a young tackle who needs the time to hone his craft. Jones didn’t come out of Georgia a finished product. There’s the complication of Jones potentially being the backup right tackle should Fautanu start and get hurt and the team could argue that’s why Jones needs time on both sides. But that’s thinking about what could happen instead of what is right in front of them. If the Steelers were willing to throw Jones in at right tackle for a Thursday game last season, they could throw him back in on the fly mid-season in 2024.
This is just the start of a long season. If there’s a time to toy with some lineups and combinations, it’s now. Maybe by the time training camp rolls around, the starting five is more settled in. I understand all that. But it feels like with every lineman the Steelers draft, we have the same conversation. He’s moved out of position with the team hoping he can make the switch. It’s hurt them before. If they keep trying it, it’ll hurt them again.
