Things might not have gotten off to the best of starts during training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe for third-year offensive tackle Broderick Jones. It’s not about how you start, though; it’s about how you finish.
Finishing training camp strong and putting together quality performances is exactly what the former first-round pick is doing at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to offensive line coach Pat Meyer, Jones is excelling at handling the little things. This has allowed him to put a good stretch of football together. Speaking with reporters Tuesday ahead of practice, Meyer praised Jones.
“…Been pleased with Broderick. He’s still, again, still learning the left side now in terms of like his feet and how to get that down. But he’s been, Broderick’s been really good in terms of the little things,” Meyer said of Jones, according to audio via Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Paying attention to like the little things, the details, having him over there with Isaac [Seumalo], too, helps out having a vet next to him like that.
“So, he’s done a nice job. We still gotta work on — we all gotta get better — but he’s gotta work on just the little things, just the little details, how that makes the difference in NFL.”
Making the move back to the left side, his college position, Jones faced some challenges early. He had some ugly reps against the likes of Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig. He regularly struggled with their speed and inside counters. It raised some serious red flags regarding Jones entering Year 3. A lot is already riding on him at left tackle protecting Aaron Rodgers’ blind side.
Then, he went down with a groin injury, missing some time. But since returning from the injury, Jones has taken positive steps forward. That led to a strong showing in the preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones didn’t allow a single pressure in 12 reps going against Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen.
Focusing on the little details on and off the field seems to be helping Jones. Coming into training camp, the report from the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac was that the Steelers thought the world of Jones, but wanted him to be a bit more serious and professional.
So far, that message seems to have sunk in. Meyer is noticing, but he also emphasized that Jones is young and growth isn’t linear.
“Again, experience. Again, I’ve always said it, he came into the league as a young player, didn’t have a ton of game reps at Georgia, really. So he came in as a very, very young player. So experience is a big part of it. Just maturing as you get a little bit older and seeing how true pros do things and how they approach things.
“So it’s, yeah, it’s all encompassing with experience, maturity, learning it, understanding this happens, this is my reaction to it. He’s done a nice job.”
That’s quite encouraging to hear regarding Jones. Playing alongside veteran Isaac Seumalo helps, but so does having nearly 2,000 NFL career snaps under his belt. He’s been through the grind of NFL seasons, knows the expectations, and knows the talent lined up across from him.
He’s paying attention to the little details, taking things seriously. His reflective play in training camp and the preseason is becoming its own reward. Now, we wait and see if it carries over into the regular season where it matters most.
