Player: T Broderick Jones
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: One way or another, things aren’t looking great right now for Broderick Jones. The 2023 14th-overall pick, he could be battling for a starting job right now. Dealing with an elbow injury among others, his play has been shaky at best in the preseason. Rather than move to left tackle, he could end up temporarily moving to the bench.
The Steelers probably entered this offseason feeling best about Broderick Jones along the offensive line. Primed to explode into a star, he managed to carve out a role at right tackle as a rookie. When he entered the starting lineup, many credit that as the turning point for the offense.
Jones has been turning heads lately, but not in a positive way. The Steelers’ quarterbacks have been turning back to see who was responsible for giving up the latest sack or pressure. Too often in the first two preseason games, it has been Jones, who does not look like himself.
Broderick Jones is a big, physical, imposing player, but he is not playing like it right now. The man the Steelers traded up to No. 14 in the first round for last year is now forcing the Steelers to consider all options for the starting tackle jobs, which may not include him.
The team still has Dan Moore Jr. nestled away at left tackle, where the Steelers wanted to move Jones. Meanwhile, rookie first-round pick Troy Fautanu seems to be ready, in their eyes. Once he works his way back from a knee injury, he could potentially start right away.
If Fautanu is ready to play for the opener, Jones may dress as the backup swing tackle. That is unless he turns the page tomorrow in the Steelers’ final preseason game and looks like his old self. Young as he is, he is one of the leaders along this offensive line, and he know it’s on him to set a tone. But the Steelers can’t afford to play him if he is going to struggle as he has been of late. And if he is struggling because of injuries, that’s not much better because he won’t heal while playing.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
