Ahead of the 2024 season, much of the attention regarding the offensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers centered on second-year pro Broderick Jones and rookie Troy Fautanu at the tackle positions.
Fourth-year pro and longtime starter Dan Moore Jr.? Well, he was an afterthought, a guy many were ready to move on from.
But, throughout training camp and the first two preseason games, Moore has been rather steady and reliable, whereas Jones has struggled mightily and Fautanu is now hurt.
For former Steelers’ offensive lineman Trai Essex, who appeared on the “Chipped Ham and Football” podcast with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko, Moore doesn’t get enough credit for the work that he put in this offseason and the improvements he’s made.
“Old reliable [Dan Moore Jr.] has fought off all the challengers so far in his career,” Essex said to Batko regarding Moore, according to video via the Post-Gazette’s YouTube page. “Fourth rounder outta Texas [A&M]. This is a big year for him. Contract year, whether he’s in Pittsburgh next year or he’s auditioning for another team, you could tell that he put in the work this off season to get better and people aren’t giving him enough credit for what he’s been putting on tape.
“Week in and week out, and in practice, he’s had a really good camp as well.”
Since joining the Steelers as a fourth-round pick out of Texas A&M in the 2021 NFL Draft, Moore has held onto the starting left tackle job for the Black and Gold. How he got to that role was quite a rollercoaster, too, thanks to a Zach Banner injury in training camp that caused former tackle Chukwuma Okorafor to move back to right tackle and Moore to step in at left tackle.
Following that injury to Banner, Moore has held down the starting left tackle job for 49 out of a possible 50 games, missing just one last season in which Broderick Jones started at left tackle against the Baltimore Ravens in Week Five.
In that time, Moore has certainly had his struggles. Last season alone, Moore finished as the worst pass-blocking tackle in the NFL from Pro Football Focus’s grades. In his first three seasons in the NFL, Moore has allowed 140 pressures and 22 sacks, numbers that are extremely concerning overall.
But, year after year, there he is at left tackle. It remains largely a mystery as to why. The Steelers respect and appreciate his availability, and do like him as a run blocker. His work in pass ptoreciton is a real problem though.
However, so far in the preseason, Moore has been one of the best pass blockers in football.
No, seriously.
Moore ranks No. 7 in the NFL (minimum 20 snaps) in pass protection, grading out at an 85.7 overall from PFF in that area of his game. He’s been quietly steady from that aspect, but of course it’s worth pointing out that he should be, considering it’s the preseason and it’s not a new environment to him.
But, as Essex said, Moore put in the work again this offseason in an effort to get better. He knew what was at stake, not only in Pittsburgh, but in the NFL, too. And he’s responded well to the Steelers drafting another first-round tackle, both on and off the field.
Quietly, he’s letting his play do all of the necessary talking. It has him in a good spot overall. That’s a credit to Moore as a professional, something many won’t give him.
You can check out the full episode of “Chipped Ham and Football” with Batko and Essex below.
