The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for the 2025 NFL Combine as Omar Khan addressed the media from Indianapolis this week. Khan and his staff will have their eyes on the talent on hand at the Combine as they look to comprise their draft board.
The Steelers' general manager was asked about a variety of topics from Pittsburgh's plan at quarterback, George Pickens' status with the team, and what the future holds for running back Najee Harris. Khan was also asked about the plan for Broderick Jones in his third season in 2025.
Khan got right to the point.
"Yeah, I think as we stand here right now, I think it's safe to assume that Broderick [Jones] will start the offseason at left tackle," Khan explained to the media via Chat Sports. "He played that successfully at Georgia, so we'll see how that plays out."
Khan went on to explain how Jones 'got better every week' and that he is excited for 'what the future holds. Learning which position Jones will play in 2025 probably wasn't high on Steelers fans' priority list the NFL Combine and free agency on the horizon, but it's something we've been itching to know. Now we have our answer.
Steelers' decision with Broderick Jones comes two years too late
The Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to draft the future left tackle of the franchise... or so we thought. Despite the affirmation given by Khan over the past two years, head coach Mike Tomlin seemed to have no interest in keeping Jones at left tackle.
As a rookie, it was Jones—not veteran Dan Moore Jr.—who was forced to kick over to right tackle after Chukwuma Okorafor was in the dog house. Despite his inconsistencies, Jones had a promising rookie campaign.
But the plan was never to keep him at right tackle.
That's why fans were so upset when the 2024 offseason rolled around and learned that Moore would be keeping his job at left tackle and Jones was sticking at right tackle. Now entering his third NFL season, the Steelers are finally going to play Jones where he belonged from the beginning.
Instead of doing what was best for the future of the offensive line, the Steelers were too focused on competing in the present with no regard for Jones' development. Because of this, Broderick's development was stunted when he had to learn a position he rarely played in high school or college—putting him behind the learning curve.
To make things even more peculiar, Troy Fautanu—Pittsburgh's first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft— played exclusively at left tackle in college at Washington but will make the transition to right tackle in the NFL on the Steelers. Fautanu played one game at right tackle before suffering a season-ending knee injury as a rookie this past season.
With Moore finally on the way out, Omar Khan confirms that Broderick Jones will play left tackle for the Steelers to begin the offseason with Troy Fautanu at right tackle. Time will tell if this decision to flip-flop Broderick's sides once again will pan out.