The Steelers set the table for Broderick Jones in his third season, but will he be able to feast? Facing a pivotal season, he still has much to prove. Next offseason, the team has to decide whether to exercise his fifth-year option. Based on his first two seasons, he will have to work hard to earn that figure, Ray Fittipaldo argues.
“There’s a lot of hope that he will turn into that guy, but I don’t know how anyone in that building can have like a high level of confidence that it is gonna happen”, he said of Broderick Jones on 93.7 The Fan. “I thought he was solid as a rookie. I thought he played well, especially as a run blocker. And then last year we saw a lot of the technique things kind of leak into his play, and then the pass pro was just a disaster all season. I don’t think he performed as well in the run game, either.
“They’re hoping he turns into a guy that they can count on, a guy they want to sign to a second contract, but anyone who watched him last year knows he’s got miles and miles to go before that happens”.
If one wants to build a case for him making considerable improvement this offseason, it wouldn’t be hard to do. While he didn’t open up about it much, Broderick Jones dealt with some type of elbow issue all last season. During the offseason, he also spent his time divided between left and right tackle. Now on the left side, even he admits he feels a difference.
Entering the 2025 season, Jones knows when he will play, and where he will play. The Steelers drafted him to be their left tackle, and now he is, at least for now. Whether or not he keeps that job will be determined by how well he performs there, of course.
There is no question that Broderick Jones has the strength, athleticism, and talent to excel at left tackle. His natural gifts were principally what made him a first-round pick in the first place. But he also came into the league young and inexperienced, and the Steelers knew he would need time to develop.
Two seasons is a decent amount of time for a young tackle to develop, though, and frankly, teams can’t wait that long. The Steelers need to have a good sense of who Jones is by the end of this season. They are partially building their future around him, their potential blindside protector for a future franchise quarterback.
If Broderick Jones is not capable of being that guy, they need to figure that out soon. One option they would have if forced to pivot would be to move Troy Fautanu to left tackle. While they have him on the right side, he played on the left in college. That’s just another reason that Jones can’t afford to slip, because they have other options.
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