It’s only the second week of OTA. Real football is still months away. Maybe it’s the emptiness of the offseason, but I can’t help but feel uncomfortable about the path the Pittsburgh Steelers are taking with Broderick Jones. Once again, the Steelers are taking a difficult path with the Jones position.
It’s far from the first time. Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green and the same thing is happening with Troy Fautanu. Investing in the offensive line only to turn them around early in their career, playing for versatility instead of stability. To summarize, here is the timeline of how and where Jones has been used.
– I played left and right tackle in college, but mainly left tackle in the game at Georgia.
– Selected to be the left tackle for the Steelers.
– Worked almost exclusively at left tackle during training camp and preseason.
– The first plays of the regular season were at left tackle.
– Moved to right tackle on short week to replace Chukwuma Okorafor
– Finished the season at right tackle.
– Omar Khan says his goal is to move Jones back to left tackle.
– Jones works at left and right tackle during the first week of OTA; It’s unclear where the team wants him during the season.
Round and round we go. Where will Broderick Jones play this year? I don’t know. He does not know it. The team doesn’t know. Some of that depends on Troy Fautanu’s progress and his move to right tackle, where he admits it’s been an adjustment. Ideally, your first-round tackles will start, and if Fautanu is going to play on the right side, then Jones will obviously play on the left.
My point is: just get all the reps in there. Let him act as this team’s starting left tackle, not a swingman floating around. Sure, Jones says he doesn’t care, but he’s saying all the right things. Last year, he was more honest about wanting to play left tackle.
It’s great that Pittsburgh has invested so much in their offensive line. A sincere applause, it’s comforting to see. But they can’t keep recruiting prospects and immediately remove them from their college position without consequences. And if they’re going to do that, they have to pick a spot and stick to it.
The Steelers love to hesitate. Bounce a player back and forth to where he started. How much it hinders development is up to the player, but it sure doesn’t help him. Not for young players in new offenses.
I defend Dan Moore Jr. more than most. Probably more than anyone else. But there’s no doubt that his presence, unwilling or unable to play right tackle, has created an obstacle that the Steelers have tried to overcome. He’s just not talented enough to put up that kind of obstacle.
If Broderick Jones is going to be the left tackle, be the left tackle. He is not an experienced veterinarian who can live without repetitions. He is still a young tackle who needs time to perfect his craft. Jones didn’t leave Georgia a finished product. There’s the complication of Jones potentially being the backup right tackle in case Fautanu starts and gets hurt and the team could argue that’s why Jones needs time on both sides. But that’s thinking about what could happen instead of what’s in front of them. If the Steelers were willing to list Jones at right tackle for a Thursday game last season, they could add him back on the fly midseason in 2024.
This is just the beginning of a long season. If there’s a time to play around with some lineups and combinations, it’s now. Maybe by the time training camp rolls around, the starting five will be more settled. I understand all that. But it seems like with every lineman in the Steelers Draft we have the same conversation. He has left his position and the team hopes to make the change. He’s hurt them before. If they keep trying, he will hurt again.
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