Left tackle is one of the most important positions in football. If you have a great left tackle, you can be rest assured your quarterback will be safe the vast majority of the time from pressure coming from that side of the line. But if you’ve got Pittsburgh Steelers LT Broderick Jones, you are not resting assured of anything.
The Steelers, after two years of playing him almost exclusively at right tackle, moved Jones back to left tackle for 2025. However, it has not gone smoothly at all. And it’s having a trickle-down effect on the Steelers’ offense. NFL film guru Greg Cosell thinks that Jones’ struggles are causing issues not only on a snap-by-snap basis but also in developing a game plan.
“They have some o-line issues, particularly the left tackle,” Cosell said Thursday on The Ross Tucker Football Podcast. “And when your left tackle is struggling, it really changes your pass game quite a bit. It just changes the way you have to go about game planning and the play calling during the game. Because if your left tackle cannot protect consistently one-on-one in pure pass situations, that changes the way you have to play.”
If the Steelers had a quality left tackle performing consistently, perhaps offensive coordinator Arthur Smith could dial up more deep shots down the field. Instead, the Steelers are opting for more of a quick-passing game. QB Aaron Rodgers’s average time to throw is 2.56 seconds. Per Pro Football Focus, that’s the second-quickest time to throw among all quarterbacks who have dropped back at least 60 times this season. He’s second only to Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford at 2.53 seconds.
And when quarterbacks are getting rid of the ball quickly, they aren’t throwing the ball down the field. Rodgers’ average depth of target (ADOT) is only 5.8 yards downfield. Thirty-one quarterbacks have dropped back 60 times this season, per Pro Football Focus. Rodgers ranks dead last among all of them in ADOT. Only one other quarterback, the New York Jets’ Tyrod Taylor, averages under 6.5 yards. The Steelers have no deep passing game at this point. If the Steelers cannot keep defenders off Rodgers, they’re not going to call plays that require him to hold onto the ball. And Jones is a big part of that.
Per PFF, Jones has allowed nine pressures this season. That’s tied with Buffalo Bills RT Spencer Brown and Tennessee Titans LT (and former Steelers LT) Dan Moore Jr. The Steelers allowed Moore to move on because they believed that Jones would be able to step in. So far, he’s been essentially a like-for-like replacement. That’s not good enough.
And PFF was not kind to Jones in Week 3. It graded his pass blocking at 36.7, a season low. That’s odd, considering he didn’t allow any sacks for the first time this season. He did allow two hits and two pressures. But PFF also gave him a season-high 96 efficiency score. That’s a metric showcasing how much pressure a player allows on a per-snap basis. And former Steelers OL Trai Essex liked the improvement he saw from Jones against the Patriots.
But others, notably former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, are not happy with Jones’ play. And it’s easy to understand why. The Steelers traded up to 14th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft to select Jones. And he hasn’t shown that he can be a franchise left tackle yet.
Now, part of the Steelers’ offensive issues has nothing to do with Jones’ pass blocking. The run game has been almost non-existent in 2025. And against the Patriots, Jones had a season-high run-blocking grade of 64.3. Not stellar but not bad either.
But the reality is that the Steelers want to be able to run the ball. And everything in Smith’s offense is built off running the ball well. I’m not saying that if the Steelers suddenly get their running game in tip-top shape, Broderick Jones will suddenly become a superstar left tackle.
But a solid running game will help keep defenses honest. And that may just take some pressure off Jones. Which should also take some pressure off Aaron Rodgers, and that would mean a better offense.
