As he learns Steelers system on 'daily basis,' Broderick Jones gaining 1st-team experience

With the third phase of the Pittsburgh Steelers offseason workouts halfway over, first-round draft pick Broderick Jones already is making his move toward becoming a starter.

Dan Moore, who started at left tackle the past two seasons, confirmed this week that he has been taking snaps at right tackle. That’s a move that has freed up Jones to get reps at left tackle with the first-team offense.

Jones made light of his ascent even though it could be a sign of things to come in the final week of OTAs and the three-day mandatory minicamp that follows for the Steelers.

“Everyone is getting reps all around the board,” Jones said. “I’m taking it day by day, rep by rep, trying to get better.”

Jones said he still is trying to get settled in at left tackle no matter if he is taking snaps with the starters or the second-team offense. That is attributed to the unfamiliar faces on the other side of the ball who the rookie is being tasked to block.

“The defense rotates so much that I’m always going against different people at different times,” he said.

When the Steelers traded up to select Jones with the No. 14 overall pick, common sense suggested it was only a matter of time before he supplanted Moore, a former fourth-round pick, in the starting lineup.

Working against Jones, however, is his relative inexperience as a starter. After being redshirted in his freshman year at Georgia in the covid-shortened 2020 season, he made four starts in 2021 and then moved into the starting lineup for 15 games last season as the Bulldogs repeated as national champions.

“I’m learning new stuff on a daily basis,” Jones said. “There are a lot of things to be learned, and there is a lot of stuff I don’t know. There is a lot of stuff I have to figure out. At the end of the day, being around older guys, talking to them, taking it in and soaking in the knowledge will help me.

“By the end of this camp it will make me a better player.”

When Jones lines up with the first-team offense, he can take comfort in having eighth-year veteran Isaac Seumalo to his right. Like Jones, Seumalo is taking part in his first OTAs with the Steelers after spending his first seven seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“He’s definitely an aggressive guy,” Seumalo told Steelers Nation Radio this week. “Sometimes you kind of have to teach young guys to hone that aggression and kind of foster it into a proper angle on a run block or using your hands a certain way. But he’s got all the tools. I’m excited to see him grow.”

When Jones is on the field with the first team, he and Seumalo make two new pieces among the offensive linemen. And two new faces to the left of center Mason Cole, who had Moore and left guard Kevin Dotson beside him for all 17 games in 2022.

“You’re always trying to learn how they step, how they think, how they process things,” Cole said. “What you need to tell them, what you don’t need to tell them. It’s a constant evolution.”

In addition to using Seumalo as a sounding board, Jones has more experienced mentors in Moore, Le’Raven Clark and right tackle Chuks Okorafor.

“It’s not just one person (who has helped me),” Jones said. “It’s even talking to the defensive guys. It’s a whole bunch of people out there.”

Seumalo, though, is the one closest to Jones on the line of scrimmage, and his locker is only a few stalls away at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

“He’s a good person to be around,” Jones said. “He’s cool, calm and collected. Sitting back and watching him and the way he plays, the way he takes everything is a good reminder for me to sit back and relax, not overthink things and just play the game of football.”

Jones is still getting used to his surroundings and not just at the team’s practice facility. It has been barely a month since the Steelers drafted him, and he is adjusting to living in a new city. He credits weekly dinners with the other offensive linemen and quarterback Kenny Pickett as helping to ease his transition to life in the NFL.

Jones said he has had little time to explore the city, but he would like to find a bowling alley so he can hone his average that he claims rests in the “200-220 range.”

Until then, he’ll have to settle for bowling over defensive linemen as he competes for a starting job in his rookie season.