PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Could you have imagined, in order to improve the offensive line the Steelers made a deal with Bill Belichick and the Patriots. The team traded a fourth rounder for the 14th overall pick and selected Georgia tackle Broderick Jones.
“It was great today,” said first-year Steelers GM Omar Khan in dealing with New England. “It was a win-win. I’m just excited we got Broderick Jones, it’s exciting.”
Khan said they went through strategy meetings earlier on Thursday and identified him as a key player. As the first round continued and pick numbers got to double digits, Jones remained on the board. The calls started. They wanted to make a move to get the 6’5”, 311-pounder. They feared other teams in front of them would potentially take him, so they made the deal with the Belichick. As Khan said, they did what they needed to do.
“He’s got a competitor’s mentality,” Khan said. “He’s wired right for this line of work. He has a desire to be great. He’s highly competitive. There is a reason he put himself in that environment.”
“He’s been a part of a winner and understands we are in the winning business. He values that, he’s experienced that. Sometimes you can’t really value that until you’ve been a part of it. Obviously the run that university has been on with its football program. They’ve won about as much as you can win over the time he spent playing a significant role for them.”
Tomlin said time will sort out where he plays. They need to get him on the field to battle with Dan Moore, Junior at left tackle and potentially Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle (where Jones didn’t play, but said he practiced all the time). The Steelers head coach said they weren’t making a statement, rather just trying to improve their football team.
They really didn’t know who he was a year ago. When Tomlin was in Athens last year he had dinner with a group of draft eligible players and asked them to give him a name we are going to be back for in 2023.
“Universally Broderick’s name was the guy’s name we got 12 months ago,” Tomlin said. “That was the first time we heard his name. When investigating I see why they held him in such high regard. He’s a really good player right now, but the upside is tremendous, he’s a Diaper Dandy. We are excited about getting him in the fold, teaching him and letting it sort itself out.”
After a busy offseason of free agent moves and trades, Khan spent his first draft trading up with New England to get the player the team coveted.
“I wouldn’t call myself aggressive, I’m just trying to win a Super Bowl,” Khan said.
Tomlin smiled wide and proclaimed.
“He’s aggressive.”