As we’ve done in previous years, we’re taking a look at those Pittsburgh Steelers under Future contracts for the 2025 offseason — the ones who spent most of, if not the entire year, on the practice squad — and what we can expect from them during training camp and (hopefully) into the regular season. Today, an outlook on OG Steven Jones.
Steven Jones/OG Oregon – 6052, 342 pounds
Steven Jones was one of my “guys” ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, one of several Oregon Ducks I became fans of throughout the pre-draft process, including RB Bucky Irving who wound up having an impressive rookie year. Jones popped up on my radar partially because the Steelers brought him in for a visit. My theory was they were intrigued after attending Oregon’s Pro Day checking out center Jackson Powers-Johnson.
After watching the tape, I came away impressed by Jones’ power.
“Overall, Steven Jones is a wide-bodied blocker with good strength and powerful hands, a bit more athletic than his testing suggests, and plays with an aggressive demeanor. He’s better than his projection, barely discussed, and viewed as a draftable candidate. If he can improve his timing in a power system, he can work. He seems a bit big and not agile enough for Arthur Smith’s wide zone system, but in the later rounds, you’re looking for talent. And Jones has the size to hang around and compete for a roster spot. My NFL comp will be a familiar one in Nate Herbig.“
Despite their interest, Jones drew little pre-draft buzz. He was No. 350 on Mock Draft Database’s consensus Big Board. Not that the low ranking was unfounded and Jones went undrafted. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him as an UDFA. He stuck on the offseason roster through training camp and though waived at cutdowns, was immediately re-signed to the practice squad and carried throughout the regular season. He never latched onto the 53-man roster and remained on the taxi squad for the rest of 2024.
Once the season ended, the Steelers interest sparked again and they inked him to a Futures contract on January 14. Now, he’ll look to make it another offseason cycle with Pittsburgh.
There’s a good chance he does. James Daniels is likely to sign elsewhere in free agency, freeing up one more guard spot, and we’ll see if center/guard Nate Herbig returns. Jones will still have an uphill battle to make the 53 and it wouldn’t be shocking if Pittsburgh drafted a guard in the late rounds but with Pat Meyer remaining the o-line coach, the same guy who met Jones at his Ducks Pro Day and I’m betting recommended bringing him in for that pre-draft visit, Jones has a name in his corner.
As I wrote in that report, Jones is something of an awkward fit in Arthur Smith’s system. But it’s not like the Steelers have small guards in Isaac Seumalo and Mason McCorimck, two body types and styles similar to Jones’. Still, Jones will have to overcome poor athletic testing (21 inch vertical, 2.92 RAS) and be more than a phone booth blocker to work in the Steelers’ zone scheme.
