One of the biggest offseason storylines for the Pittsburgh Steelers on the offensive side of the football that doesn’t center on the quarterback position and talk about Aaron Rodgers, is that third-year offensive tackle Broderick Jones is kicking back over to left tackle for the 2025 season and beyond.
After spending his first two seasons primarily as a starter at right tackle, where he had some struggles, Jones is moving back to a position with which he’s much more familiar and comfortable.
Two days into Organized Team Activities, Jones is starting to catch the eye of some teammates.
They include third-year outside linebacker Nick Herbig, who spoke about Jones following Day 2 of OTAs at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side.
“I think Broderick is like a natural left tackle,” Herbig told reporters, according to video via 93.7 The Fan on X. “He’s very athletic, he’s strong, he can move. He has all the tools, and I expect big things out of him this year.”
The Steelers need a big year out of Jones after two disappointing seasons at right tackle. Last season, Jones finished second in the NFL in sacks allowed, behind only former teammate Dan Moore Jr., who held down left tackle for the Steelers for the last four years.
When Pittsburgh moved up in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to land Jones out of Georgia, the belief was he’d be its long-term answer at left tackle. But early in his career he was the swing tackle, learning both left and right. Eventually, he took over for Chukwuma Okorafor in Week 9 of the 2023 season and held down the starting right tackle job there the last two years, due in large part to the fact that Moore was stuck at the position and couldn’t play on the other side.
Now, Moore is off to Tennessee after signing a huge contract in free agency, opening up the spot for Jones.
The last time Jones saw significant snaps at left tackle in a game came during his rookie season when he filled in for the injured Moore against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5. That day, Jones played 66 snaps and allowed just one pressure in 37 pass-blocking opportunities, grading out at a 74.8 overall in the win.
Since then, he’s been mostly at right tackle, playing 1,694 snaps at the position. While at right tackle he’s struggled in pass protection, allowing 14 sacks and 69 total pressures, leading to ugly grades of 54.6 and 52.1 in pass protection from Pro Football Focus in his first two seasons.
But with his athleticism, length and comfort at left tackle, Jones has a chance to get his career back on track and become the player the Steelers believed they were getting when they traded up for him.
He’s starting to garner some attention from teammates early on in the offseason, including from Herbig, who is looking at a pivotal third year in the league as well, though he has much production and good play on his resume.
Hopefully Jones can fulfill the potential many believe he has. If he does, and second-year pro Troy Fautanu can lock down right tackle, the Steelers should be in great shape at the tackle positions moving forward, just like GM Omar Khan envisioned when he first selected Jones.
