General manger Omar Khan said earlier this offseason, at the 2024 NFL Combine, that the Pittsburgh Steelers still see Broderick Jones’ future at left tackle, but head coach Mike Tomlin declared at the 2024 NFL owner’s meetings last month that his position for the 2024 season is very much still up in the air.
“To be determined,” Tomlin said. “We’ve just got so much ahead of us in terms of player acquisition. Where any specific player ends up is subject to who else is on our roster and the make up of it.”
Tomlin probably didn’t want to reveal too much, but it’s very plausible that Jones will be put back at his natural position, especially given Dan Moore Jr.’s subpar play over the last three seasons.
Khan’s comments at the combine suggested that they want to put Jones back at left tackle. Why wait? Moore was one of the worst offensive tackles in the league last year. He allowed eight sacks in 2023, which was tied for eighth-most in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. Moore’s PFF pass-blocking grade was 39.7, which ranked as the sixth-lowest in the league.
“I’ve said this before, but versatility on the offensive line is important. (Jones) proved he could play right tackle last year but he was drafted to be a left tackle. And eventually, he will be a left tackle. When that is, time will tell, but he was drafted to be a left tackle,” Khan said.
Despite many analyst calling for Broderick Jones to kick over to left tackle, Chris Simms of NBC Sports has the Steelers selecting Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu at 20th overall in a mock draft scenario. Fashanu is solely considered as a left tackle by evaluators.
“[Fashanu’s], by a lot of people, looked at as a safety guy because the way he pass protects,” Simms said on his Unbuttoned Podcast. “(He’s) another one that I would tell you is a little all over the place with some of my friends that I talked to in the NFL.”
Simms agreed with his co-host Connor Rogers that Fashanu is best suited to play at left tackle.
“I think the teams that value run game and all that really don’t like Fashanu,” Simms said. “So that’s the problem, but either way the Steelers have a need there.”
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks Fashanu is more of a left tackle and Pittsburgh needs a right tackle, so they will pass on him. A complete different opinion on the matter.
“I think they would probably pass. He’s a left tackle. Their desire is to move Broderick Jones to the left side,” Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan. “That’s definitely something they want to do in short order. I don’t know exactly when it’s gonna happen, but Fashanu isn’t a guy who, it seems like, has a lot of right tackle capability.”
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