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Arthur Smith: Broderick Jones ‘Feels Like He’s A Natural’ Left Tackle

Broderick Jones Steelers Tomlin

In 2023, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up in the first round to select Broderick Jones. They were hoping that he would help kickstart their rebuild of their offensive line. Unfortunately, he hasn’t panned out yet. Jones was fine as a rookie, but last year was rough for him. He even got benched early on in the year, before being thrust back into the starting lineup because of injuries. Now, after all that uncertainty, Jones’ play is starting to pick up, and Arthur Smith has noticed.

“Broderick’s [Jones] background was different than the three guys we drafted last year,” Smith said Monday via transcripts provided by the team. “Those guys had played a lot of college starts. I know Broderick is a terrific athlete for a tackle, and he was forced to play right, and then the three-man competition we had with Dan [Moore Jr.] playing left only, and then obviously Troy [Fautanu] being a rookie.

“Then Troy got hurt, so it ended up Broderick playing right tackle. He feels like he’s a natural left. We’ve been able to kind of settle that down. Both those guys have done a nice job.”

Coming out of college, Jones was a left tackle. Since then, the Steelers have moved him back and forth between the left and right side, not allowing him to settle in at one position. That’s likely part of the reason why he hasn’t developed well. Now, back at left tackle, Jones has shown signs of improvement.

However, the Steelers seem to have learned their lesson. They’ve stayed committed to Jones at left tackle and Fautanu at right tackle. Even when they were dealing with injuries at that position, Mike Tomlin wouldn’t entertain moving Fautanu around.

Jones had a shaky start to training camp but quickly shook the rust off. In the preseason, Jones has looked much improved, playing well against opposing teams’ starters. Playing his natural position of left tackle is likely a big part of that. This offseason, Jones has expressed that he feels more comfortable working at left tackle again.

We’ll see if Jones can continue playing well in the regular season. The Steelers would love to get a breakout season from him. Some of their other young pieces along the offensive line, like Zach Frazier, have shown a lot of promise. If Jones can anchor their left tackle spot, the Steelers’ offense would be in a much better place. Jones has a tall task in front of him this year. Hopefully, he meets that challenge.

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