Buy Or Sell: Broderick Jones will flourish at left tackle as he matures.
Explanation: Broderick Jones is a young player who still doesn’t have a ton of playing experience. While he has some leadership traits, he also has some maturity issues. Having sparingly played on the left side or focused during the offseason on one position has not aided his development professionally, either.
Buy:
The Steelers knew they were making a long-term commitment to Broderick Jones when they traded up for him in 2023. They also knew he was pretty raw and certainly inexperienced coming out of college. During his first two NFL seasons, he hasn’t had the ideal circumstances to mature, uncertain where he would play.
With Troy Fautanu set to take over at right tackle, Jones can buckle down at left tackle this offseason. And after a trying second season, he has every reason to dedicate himself to his craft. He isn’t the first young player to have some maturing to do early in his career. You’re not born knowing how to be a professional. Not to knock Dan Moore Jr., but it helps to have a shining example to emulate, too. That’s less easy to do when it’s the guy the team drafted you to replace.
Sell:
While there might be some advantages to moving Broderick Jones to the left side, it is not a magic potion. Quite clearly a lot of his issues had nothing to do with where he was playing but rather his technique. His missed assignments and penalties showed a lack of discipline and attention to detail—again, not about location.
It would be foolish to dismiss Jones at this point in his career. He is just 23 years old with all of 27 NFL starts under his belt. Really, Marcus Gilbert was in no better position at the same point in his career. But there also really isn’t anything to latch onto in the hopes of a better tomorrow, either. Maybe he’ll be a solid starter, but to feel confident about Jones being a “franchise” player? I need to see more.
With the Steelers’ 2024 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2025 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2025, and they need everyone healthy to do it. They needed a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
