Pittsburgh Steelers fans are going through familiar growing pains at left tackle. Broderick Jones got off to a terrible start in the season opener, allowing three sacks, including one on the Steelers' first play from scrimmage.
It wasn’t all bad from Jones, but the sum of his performance was far from good. Still, the former first-round pick has had a habit of starting slow and finishing strong in each of his first few seasons, plus he’s starting at left tackle on a full-time basis for the first time since his college days at Georgia.
That’s because the Steelers couldn’t get away from Dan Moore Jr. He held down the left tackle position in Pittsburgh for four grueling seasons, where he would improve just enough year over year to justify his spot on the offensive line. He was never great in Pittsburgh, but he put his best foot forward in 2024 and signed a fat free agent contract with the Tennessee Titans as a result. But his debut with the two-tone blue didn’t fare much better than Jones.
Nothing about Dan Moore's Titans debut will shock Pittsburgh Steelers fans
Moore didn’t allow any sacks on the rookie quarterback and first overall pick, Cam Ward, against the Denver Broncos. However, he allowed five pressures and committed two penalties, and was given a brutal grade from Pro Football Focus as a result.
PFF gave Moore a 48.1 overall grade, which ranked just 33rd among 36 eligible tackles in Week 1. Even worse, his passing grade was just 19.9, surprisingly one tick higher on the tackle rankings. To be fair to Moore, it wasn’t all bad; his 69.0 run blocking grade ranked ninth among tackles.
But that’s what Steelers fans remember from Moore’s time in Pittsburgh. Moore was relatively solid as a run blocker throughout his time in Pittsburgh, but he continuously struggled in pass protection before finally coming into his own in 2024, but even that wasn’t great.
It didn’t help that the AFC North employed great pass rushers like Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson, but such is life for an NFL left tackle. There are few off weeks with the talent at edge rusher dispersed across the league.
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That’s why it was so bizarre to see Moore sign such a large contract this offseason. Still, that $82 million price tag can be a bit misleading, as he’s only tied for the 13th-highest paid offensive tackle in the league based on annual salary. But it’s not as though Moore is playing up to the standard of his pay with a grade placing him among the worst tackles that played in Week 1.
Still, Steelers fans had their fill of Moore over the years. Even after a poor showing from Jones, at least there is potential there. After all, Jones started poorly last season at right tackle before hitting a stride later in the season.
It may not be particularly comfortable right now, but this is one of those situations where the devil you don’t know is better than the one you do.