Steelers satisfied with results from 1st-round pick Broderick Jones in NFL preseason debut
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First-round pick Broderick Jones remained entrenched as the second-team left tackle Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers resumed training camp at Saint Vincent.
Based on the way the Steelers used Jones in the preseason opener, however, they are getting him up to speed in case he replaces starter Dan Moore in the near future.
Jones played a team-high 49 of a possible 60 offensive plays Friday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I actually feel like I played pretty well for the most part,” Jones said after Sunday’s practice at Saint Vincent. “There were a couple plays I wish I had back, but for the most part I feel like I performed well.”
Broderick Jones on his NFL (preseason) debut pic.twitter.com/P7DlQrlHOf
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 13, 2023
Moore started at left tackle and left after 10 snaps — along with every other member of the starting offensive unit. Jones took over and stayed in the game essentially the rest of the way.
“We wanted to see him do that,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said Sunday. “He goes against some really good guys here. We have some good guys on the edge that he goes against every day.”
Veterans Alex Highsmith and Markus Golden worked the most against Jones in camp. This was a chance for the No. 14 overall pick to face players who were unfamiliar to him.
“He was going against different guys with different moves,” Canada said. “Everybody has their own rush tactic. Everybody’s run defense is a little different. We want to speed up that clock as fast as we can in this setting.
“We want to give him a lot of reps. That was an agenda.”
The Steelers used three quarterbacks after Kenny Pickett exited in the first quarter. They used two other players at center, and rookie Spencer Anderson manned three spots on the line throughout the game.
Jones, though, was a fixture at left tackle after Moore’s exit.
“We gave him a big exposure,” coach Mike Tomlin said after the game. “I like his demeanor. I like how he finished. We’ll comb through it and look at his hand usage, how he mixed up his protections and some of the things that are very technical that are major components of his level of play.”
The Steelers face the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium in their second preseason game.
Jones continues to see the occasional practice rep with the first-team offense in camp when Moore shifts to the right side to give Chuks Okorafor a breather. The Steelers have given no indication Moore, the starting left tackle the past two seasons, will lose his job before the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the San Francisco 49ers.