PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Steelers first-round pick checked off another box with the end of the preseason. What Broderick Jones thought of his performance and what his position coach, Pat Meyer, said of his work to date.
Jones played nearly all of the snaps at left tackle during the preseason, but almost exclusively with the second and third teams with Dan Moore starting.
In his first three professional games, Jones felt like he had a ‘solid performance’ throughout. He said there is always something to improve on, but he felt like he took a step in the right direction.
“I really like him,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada. “I think he plays super hard. I think he does everything you'd like a guy to do.
He's trying to get better every day and we're in a fortunate situation where we've got three really good tackles competing for those jobs. And Chuks (Chukwuma Okorafor) and Dan (Moore Jr.) have played a lot of football for us.
And Broderick is coming in and battling.”
“So, I credit him for coming to work every day and he gets better every day. So, I think, he'll continue to grow. And he's got a huge, huge ceiling as he evolves into an NFL player.”
“A different level of football here, just learning the game,” Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer told 93.7 The Fan of Jones’ preseason. “It’s a different game even though he’s played at one of the best programs in college football.”
“Just different learning everything. Learning the system, learning the techniques and the defenders you are playing against. Day-in and day-out you are playing against the best players in the world. Just learning that part of the game.”
Improved footwork, hands and just figuring out he’s able to play within his game and style of play, and compete against pros, is important for Jones as a takeaway from the preseason. What may be the hardest transition from the high level of competition at practice at Georgia and in the SEC is the alarm clock. Jones says he’s not a morning person, but is getting used to dragging himself out of bed at 6:30a.
“The love of the game is what keeps it going,” Jones said. “It gets tough. It’s fun on game days and stuff, but the actual preparation of it has to be next-level, which is draining. If you truly love what you are doing, at the end of the day, you are going to do it.”
Now he goes from preparing for preseason games to almost certainly being the backup when the season begins. He said there are still things he can work on in practice because you have to keep the ball rolling. Jones noted the NFL is a 24/7 job and you must continue to improve on something going forward.
“I’m excited for it,” Jones said. “I really won’t know until the real season starts and we just get to playing. Week after week is long, but I went through it at Georgia. It’s really not as bad as people think it is. The practices aren’t as bad as college. That’s the plus of coming to the league from college. It’s longer hours-more studying, more film, taking care of your body.”
He said he never looked at the obvious position battle with Moore at left tackle as a competition. Jones said he and Moore knew they had a job to do. He said the best man will start and there are no hard feelings between he or Moore no matter how it turns out. The rookie said the third-year tackle Moore has been great about talking with him, spending extra hours after practice and sharing his knowledge especially how to use his hands in pass protection.
Jones also got an early lesson about how the NFL works on Sunday afternoon. Following spending time team building at a go-cart track, Jones was hanging out with several other lineman including Kevin Dotson when he got the word Dotson was traded to the Rams. Jones said Dotson knew he would be traded.
“At the end of the day it is a business,” Jones said.
The start of his business career Jones will likely be a backup, but says he will continue to push during his rookie season.