NFL player comparisons for Steelers OT Broderick Jones

Low-end NFL comparison: Cameron Erving

What's the low-end comparison for Broderick Jones? Unfortunately, if he's a player who doesn't clean up his mechanical flaws enough, his NFL career trajectory may even be as low as Cameron Erving's. The former Florida State product was the 19th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

Despite his combination of size and athletic traits, Erving showed that he couldn't play tackle in the NFL at a high level. This caused him to bounce around the offensive line. Cleveland even tried him at center in his second season before he joined the Kansas City Chiefs in year three. The Cheifs experimented with Erving at guard in 2018 -- starting 13 of 14 games at the position, but he moved back to left tackle from 2019 to 2021.

Erving had a hard time staying healthy (which didn't help his career path), but when he played, he struggled to anchor against powerful pass rushers. He did his best work as a pass protector. He eventually moved from Kansas City to Carolina in 2021 where he started 9 of 9 games he appeared in. Erving watched from the bench in his 8th NFL season in 2022.

This is likely the worst-case scenario for Broderick Jones in the NFL -- a player who was good enough to be a low-level starter and bounced around the league, but never really showed much improvement. Jones and Erving shared a remarkably similar skill set and athletic traits coming into the league, but Pittsburgh Steelers fans need to hope that the progress in the NFL is much more significant.