Left tackle might be Broderick Jones’ natural position in theory, but that doesn’t mean he’s able to pick it up right away after starting two seasons on the right side. He has only played 129 snaps at left tackle in the NFL, and now he’s expected to be the full-time starter there to protect Aaron Rodgers’ blindside.
He recapped how his spring went on the left side following the conclusion of mandatory minicamp today.
“I think it went as good as it could go with everything that’s going on with me moving back to the left from right,” Jones said via Steelers Live on X. “I still got a couple more weeks to hone in on my skills and continue to develop on the left side and come in ready for camp.”
It’s an important year for Jones. With Rodgers on the team, Jones will have the spotlight on him more than ever before. The minor injuries he dealt with last season are gone and he’s no longer out of position. There are no more excuses in year three. If he doesn’t perform, the Steelers will be forced to decline his fifth-year option, leaving his future up in the air.
Jones shed 10-15 pounds this offseason and is seemingly in the best shape of his life. That should help, but a lot of his biggest issues had to do with technique or the mental side of the game. All of that needs to start coming together for him.
The Steelers probably did him a disservice by forcing him to play out of position, but that is what their roster needed at the time with Dan Moore Jr. not having positional flexibility. About halfway through last season, Jones’ experience on the right in the NFL surpassed his total number of starts on the left in college.
Flipping calls in his head will be part of the learning curve, but he’ll also need to translate all of his body movements and build up muscle memory on the left side.
He was asked if he feels ready in a hypothetical scenario where the Steelers have a game tomorrow.
“If I’m being honest, I think I probably do need a couple more weeks,” Jones said. “Not saying that I’ll be bad, but just for me to feel like I’m in the right mindset to play an actual game.”
The honesty is refreshing, but it paints a picture of how difficult the flip-flopping of sides has been on the former first-round pick. It is very much a work in progress, and there might be some growing pains at first.
While many players take a vacation between minicamp and training camp, Jones told the media earlier this week that he is entering “grind mode”. Broderick Jones’ transition to the left side will be one of the most important indicators of the offense’s success in 2025.
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