Maybe Broderick Jones doesn’t become the stud left tackle the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up for to draft. The team can live with that. What they can’t accept is Jones being an average or below-quality tackle, tasked with protecting a less-than-mobile Aaron Rodgers this season. For the PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo, Jones must take a clear step forward even if it doesn’t become a leap.
“At this point, I think you would just settle for him being like an above-average tackle, not necessarily someone who’s gonna play to a number 14 overall pick,” Fittipaldo said during a Wednesday interview on 93.7 The Fan.
Coming out of Georgia, Jones was a toolsy lump of clay. One with plenty of talent, athletic enough to dunk a basketball, but with 14 career starts. So far, he’s shown every bit of his youth. Inconsistent play before and during the snap has led to assignment errors, penalties, and poor pass protection. An arm/elbow injury got his 2024 season off to an ominous start, Jones terribly struggling during the preseason with problems continuing into the regular season. Had it not been for Troy Fautanu’s season-ending knee injury, Jones may have been benched for good.
In better shape and healthy, training camp will offer an initial gauge of Jones’ progress, especially now that he’s back playing left tackle. Even if he’s still re-adjusting to the position switch.
“The one thing we get a lot of in training camp is the one-on-ones with the d-line,” Fittipaldo said. “It’s an every-other-day thing where those guys are going live and it’s usually good-on-good. So we’re gonna find out pretty fast if Broderick has made that smooth transition over to the left side.”
Every day the Steelers are in pads, they hold a one-on-one rush session between the offensive line and the defensive front seven. It doesn’t fully replicate a real NFL play but it’s an intense competition period. Jones should see plenty of Alex Highsmith, who will test him throughout the summer.
At the least, Fittipaldo says Jones must be an upgrade over Dan Moore Jr.
“Dan Moore Jr. was a nice player for you, but he gave up too many sacks. You need Broderick Jones to be better than Dan Moore. For that draft pick to work out.”
If Jones can beat Moore’s level, he could eventually match Moore’s offseason payday. Pittsburgh will likely pick up Jones’ fifth-year option, though an extension is unlikely to occur. Instead, Jones would be asked to replicate any improved play in 2026. Should he do so, the Steelers might back up the money truck. That scenario comes with plenty of ifs and feels far into the future, but he’d be only 26 years old at the time of a summer 2027 contract extension. Right in the prime of his career to cash in.
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