Steelers Superstar TJ Watt Impressed With Rookie Broderick Jones And Surgent Run Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense made a substantial leap forward with their Week 9, Thursday night win over the Tennessee Titans. There were a few things that changed that week that have been credited with the improvement. One was the move of Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada from the booth down to the sideline. The second was the first start of rookie offensive lineman Broderick Jones at right tackle. The Steelers' offense produced their best run game of the season up to that point with 166 yards on the ground. Was having Jones in a reason for the improvement? Steelers superstar edge rusher, T.J. Watt certainly thinks so.  

Did it really help that much? It certainly felt like it during Week 10 when the Steelers were once again able to pull out a win over the Green Bay Packers. Once again, the run game looked strong. Both running backs - Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren participated and scored touchdowns. Harris ran 16 times for 82 yards and Warren had 15 runs for 101 yards. 

Recently, Watt appeared on former NFL defensive end, Chris Long's podcast, Green Light With Chris Long. During the episode, Chris and his brother, NFL offensive guard Kyle Long, asked Watt about playing with Jones. Chris said that Jones is a "revelation" and noted that the run game has taken off since he began starting. In his opinion, the run game looks like a "physical, throwback" Pittsburgh offense with a punishing run game. Watt agreed that Jones gives the line something special. 

"He's been a boost. Something about those Georgia guys, just come in with crazy confidence. It must be that SEC-type confidence, they feel like they've seen it all, and it's contagious. When you have a guy that believes in himself, goes to work every day, is just trying to develop, and has that smashmouth mentality, he's very gritty at how he finishes plays and it's contagious. It's been able to rub off on the offense to be able to have 200 rush yards, or whatever we had yesterday, and we just want to be able to build off that."

Jones, who helped the University of Georgia win two National Championships, has been the center of attention since training camp. Fans have been stomping their feet, demanding Head Coach Mike Tomlin start the young tackle. He was selected by the Steelers with the 14th overall pick in 2023 and had only started one game previously when Dan Moore Jr. was injured. Then when Pittsburgh benched Chukwuma Okorafor for the Week 9 game, Jones got his big break. 

He did not let down the fans or his teammates. Jones seemed to bring the spark that was missing to a line that had been getting bullied the entire first half of the season. Watt appreciates how much of a team player Jones is and said he enjoys going up against him in practice.   

"It's fun for me to be able to go up against Broderick in practice because it's the young guy that's always asking me things and it's fun for me to go up against the guy that's always trying something new. He's not just trying to beat me, holding his hands every play, or doing something different. He's trying things so we can work together. I think it's making both of us better," said Watt in praise of the young tackle.

While the sample size is small, just three games now, the Steelers have won every game that Jones has started, including that earlier game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5.

Steelers' Broderick Jones Got His Shot Because Of Someone Else's Mistake

As mentioned, Jones got his chance to start when Okorafor was benched. Okorafor, who is in his sixth season in the NFL, all with Pittsburgh, was given his demotion because of some comments he made. During his press conference before the Packers game, Tomlin would not give any details about Okorafor's situation. 

However, according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter, Gerry Dulac, the incident happened during the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He wrote that Okorafor was angry that the offense seemed to be using the same plays over and over, despite trailing the whole game. Dulac did not say to whom Okorafor was speaking, but it was enough to be called "significant" by Tomlin. It certainly must have been for Tomlin to publicly admit any kind of wrongdoing, he usually keeps that information close to the vest. 

It feels like Okorafor was taking a shot at Canada about something we have heard from other teams before. Numerous teams have said that the Steelers' offense is predictable or that they knew what play the team were going to call. Regardless of how valid the comments are or not, Tomlin is very much "team-first" and is unlikely to tolerate anyone who isn't protecting his fellow teammates and coaches.  

What do you think about Jones and his addition to the offense? Are you impressed with Watt's comments about how Jones is working with him to help make the whole team better as opposed to just trying to improve his own game? Click to comment below.

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