The way things are shaping up, Dan Moore Jr. will have started every game of his Pittsburgh Steelers career for which he was healthy. While he missed two games due to injury, he has been a full-time starter since his rookie season. More often than not the Steelers didn’t plan for him to start, yet they can’t seem to replace him.
“I’m a guy who works hard. I’m going to bring a certain attitude or mentality to the offensive line”, Moore told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Regardless of who they bring in, I feel like as long as I do what I’m supposed to do, there’s nobody better than me.”
Through four games, Moore is playing his best ball during the 2024 season. While he isn’t about to break into the Pro Bowl, he is setting himself up well for free agency. And he will certainly find a team other than the Pittsburgh Steelers, because they have planned for this.
“I feel like my game has elevated in a lot of different ways”, Moore said, noting that in his fourth season, he should be playing at a high level. He credits the challenges of the past years for getting him where he is now. “It took a little bit of being doused in fire in my early years to figure out how good of a player I truly was and gain confidence”.
In 2023, the Steelers traded up in the first ground to draft Broderick Jones. He challenged Moore for the starting left tackle job as a rookie, but could not beat him out. Eventually, he replaced Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle instead.
He remains at right tackle, even briefly demoted in favor of 2024 rookie Troy Fautanu. The plan was for Fautanu to take over at right tackle and for Jones to kick Moore to the bench, but that plan never developed. Fautanu is now on the Reserve/Injured List, and Jones is trying to settle in at right tackle.
Even though Dan Moore is playing at an all-time high, however, don’t expect the Steelers to alter their plans. They drafted Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu to be their long-time starters, and that is still true. Unless Jones really tanks, I can’t see them deviating from that plan.
Jones is playing through a series of injuries this year, but he has had some significant ups and downs. That goes without saying given that he lost his starting job to Fautanu. He is only back starting again because Fautanu suffered a significant injury that required surgery. And through all of that, Moore has hung tight, holding down the left tackle position.
Which he will likely do for some other team in 2025 and beyond. Dan Moore isn’t likely to turn into a Pro Bowler in some other system, either, but he will stabilize the left tackle position for somebody. And the Steelers will hope that the combination of Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu works out as they intended.
