Former Steelers Player Sends Advice to Broderick Jones

Broderick Jones has endured a bumpy beginning to his NFL career, and while the third-year offensive tackle is slated to start at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers following the departure of Dan Moore Jr., he's far from a finished product.

Appearing on the "Arthur Moats Experience" podcast, former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex stated that he believes a majority of the issues Jones has to iron out are mental rather than physical.

"We have to hone in those mental errors," Essex said. “I’m not concerned about Broderick physically. He’s strong, he’s aggressive. He does have that dog in him. It’s just about pointing that dog in the right spot, every single play, and not having these lapses in judgement that hurt him and hurt the team.”

Jones undoubtedly possesses the requisite athleticism to play tackle at a high level in the NFL, evidenced in part by his 4.97-second 40-yard dash at the combine before Pittsburgh selected him with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2023 draft, but he simply hasn't put all of the pieces together yet.

His first true opportunity for the Steelers in Week 9 of his rookie campaign when he supplanted Chukwuma "Chuks" Okorafor at right tackle.

Jones played left tackle while at Georgia, but he remained on the right side of the line for the remainder of that year while allowing 30 pressures and five sacks across 701 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

Pittsburgh circled back and took Washington's Troy Fautanu, another tackle, in the first round of the 2024 draft at No. 20 overall, generating competition between him and Jones in the process.

An MCL sprain Fautanu suffered in the preseason opener kept him out of action at the onset of the year as Jones held down the fort at right tackle.

Fautanu essentially swiped the starting job from Jones after the latter committed three penalties during a single series against the Denver Broncos in Week 2, but the former was ruled out for the remainder of the season shortly thereafter as a result of a dislocated kneecap he sustained in practice ahead of Week 3.

Jones, who got into a bit of a spat with fans on X after a Week 4 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, was credited as allowing 45 pressures and 11 sacks over 630 pass blocking reps by PFF this past season.

With two years left on his rookie contract and a decision on his fifth-year option looming next offseason, time is of the essence for Jones to establish himself as a long-term starter for the Steelers.