Week 1 couldn’t have gone any better for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They got a road win and watched the Ravens and Browns both drop winnable games. The debut of Aaron Rodgers went as well as expected, and even Jalen Ramsey helped make a game-winning play late.
But if there is one part of Sunday’s game that leaves a bad taste in the mouth, it's the concerning performance of Broderick Jones at left tackle.
After a strong preseason showing, the hope was that Jones had turned the corner, and the move back to the blindside would help resurrect his career. After just one game, it’s time to be concerned about the former first-round pick.
Pittsburgh Steelers OT Broderick Jones is close to officially being labeled a bust
With Rodgers under center, it’s going to be very important for the Steelers to provide him with clean pockets. As we saw on Sunday, he just doesn’t have the athleticism to escape pressure anymore, and he is susceptible to taking huge hits. Rodgers was hit way too often on Sunday and took several monster shots inside the pocket.
The player who was the most responsible for those big collisions was Jones, who struggled against whoever the Jets put across from him. Quinnen Williams was able to generate some quick pressure, as was Will McDonald. The Steelers had no choice but to give Jones more help in the second half, and that’s just not something they were hoping to do on every snap here in Year 3.
The Steelers don’t have any other choice but to leave Jones on the field for this season. The backup options aren’t any better, and they don’t possess the athleticism to help in the run game, either.
READ MORE: Ex-Steelers offensive lineman rips impending draft flop with one brutal quote
But it sure feels like this was a big whiff from Omar Khan and company, especially considering who they passed on and what they had to trade to go up and acquire him.
Pittsburgh was in desperate need of an offensive tackle in 2023, and that’s what led to them trading up to acquire Jones. Hindsight is 20/20, but the Steelers would have been better off staying at No. 17 and drafting Christian Gonzalez or taking the top receiver on their board (Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers, etc.)
This is a good reminder of why teams shouldn’t reach for needs during the draft and why trading up for a non-quarterback is always incredibly risky.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are hopeful that Jones can turn things around as the season progresses, but based on what we saw in Week 1, he might be the reason the offense struggles against quality opponents. We shouldn’t overreact to one game, but this has been par for the course for Jones, and Arthur Smith will need to make some serious adjustments to hide their first-round bust over the next four months.