Broderick Jones has found himself front and center in Narrative Junction. There’s a Pittsburgh Steeler who finds himself there every year. A polarizing player and often one easy to criticize. Every mistake magnified and, often, every success ignored or downplayed. And Jones feels like he’s in that camp.
Now, he’s not a victim. The start of his training camp was poor. There’s no getting around that. He struggled during the team’s four pad-less practices before popping up with a groin injury that shelved him for a few days. With pads on and a full return to practice, Jones has strung together solid practices. He’s sealed the edge, shown better technique, and doesn’t look lost the way he did early in camp.
It might be easy to point to Alex Highsmith’s groin injury, which has caused him to miss the last three practices, as one reason why Jones’ play has perked up. But Jones has still regularly faced Nick Herbig, a starting EDGE rusher on many other defenses, and even T.J. Watt for the handful of reps Watt flipped sides as the Steelers gets him loosened off his usual LOLB spot.
Over the last four days of my diaries, I have five specific notes on Jones winning reps. Three versus Nick Herbig, one against Alex Highsmith, and one after facing T.J. Watt. Outside rushes that Jones defended and secured the edge well. It’ll be nice to see him handle counters and inside rushers more often, an issue he had early in camp, and one that really stresses his hands and feet. But all he can do is defend the rushes that come his way and he’s looking much better.
The weight he lost this offseason still seems to be kept off. Some wondered if that was a hindrance, if he was too small, but that wasn’t the issue when he struggled the first few days. He wasn’t losing because of a lack of strength or being overwhelmed. Most of his problems have been mental and technique. Knowing the snap count and his assignment. Improving his first punch and keeping his eyes up on contact. That’s what looks better.
It’s no surprise Jones has improved once the pads came on. Blocking without pads and limited contact is unnatural. Dress in pads and throw on the full uniform and it feels like there’s “permission” to be physical, especially during the Steelers’ ultra-physical practices.
Jones still has a long way to go. This entire offensive line does. A couple of good practices doesn’t mean he’s turned the corner just in the way his first rough ones didn’t doom his season. There are three preseason games to be played and Jones figures to see a lot of snaps. He needs them.
A tough four-game stretch to open the regular season awaits after that. Jones will face talented pass rushers like the New York Jets’ Will McDonald IV (10.5 sacks in 2024), the Seattle Seahawks’ Derick Hall (eight sacks), and the Minnesota Vikings’ Jonathan Greenard (12 sacks). Not to mention the defensive-minded head coaches and schemes the Steelers will face from Aaron Glenn, Mike Vrabel, Mike McDonald, and Vikings DC Brian Flores. No team blitzed more than the Vikings last season and it wasn’t close.
All of that will dictate the true evaluation of Jones more than anything he’s done in training camp. But if we’re going to be quick to criticize, and I noted the lumps he took, it’s important to highlight when things have gotten better. For Jones, it has. The Steelers need it to continue.
