Steelers' Broderick Jones Gives Intriguing Insight On Which Position He Will Play In 2024

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in the middle of a lot of headlines throughout training camp and the preseason. The most common talking point has been the quarterback competition between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, while another intriguing decision will be the pair of starting tackles throughout the 2024 season. Pittsburgh has spent their last two first round picks on tackles with Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu, while Dan Moore Jr. has a considerable amount of experience. The starting tackle pairing will be some combination of those three.

Jones is a second-year player for Pittsburgh who is expected to take a considerable leap, especially once he returns back to his natural position at left tackle. This is the position he was drafted as, but he spent the 2023 season mostly playing right tackle after the benching of Chukwuma Okorafor. Pittsburgh then drafted Fautanu, who was brought in to be the right tackle. This has sparked a ton of debate about when Jones will be moved to the left side, and he was asked about that following practice on Tuesday.

"Got to wait and see, until September 8th. Just see what goes down, but you know, as of right now, I'm sticking with right tackle. That's what I have been playing. You know, Troy [Fautanu] is still trying to get back right so, for me, I feel like that's where I will be at first game at the beginning of the season, but you never know, we'll see how everything plays out."

Fautanu suffered a knee injury during the first preseason game against the Houston Texans, and he has yet to return to the field. He didn't go down during the game and waited till the game was over to ask for any sort of knee brace, so it shouldn't be considered too serious of an injury. His health has a lot to do with what the starting line will look like once Week 1 rolls around.

If Fautanu returns to full health and the coaching staff is comfortable with the amount of practice he had ahead of his first NFL game, he would start at right tackle. In turn, that means either Jones or Moore would start on the left side. Moore is the furthest thing from a fan-favorite, but he has a ton of experience and has seemed to have had a decent preseason. Jones might be in serious jeopardy of not starting in the first game of his second season if Fautanu starts at right tackle.

There is a ton of concern surround Jones after his preseason performance. He seemed to struggle at points during every game. He has reportedly been dealing with a nagging arm injury which has forced him to wear an arm brace, which is likely hindering his performance. If this is the case, maybe it is best for him to try to take some time to heal.

Steelers Need To Stop Playing Musical Chairs With Their Offensive Linemen

An important part of having many young guys on the offensive line is their development. It is hard for them to develop when they are being thrown at different positions every day. This is something Pittsburgh's coaching staff should already be familiar with after the failure of Kevin Dotson, but yet they are doing it again with Jones.

He is a left tackle that was drafted in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The organization even traded up for him. Moore is a free agent after the 2024 season and it's time to let the younger guy take his spot and get some experience playing there at the NFL level.

What do you think of Jones' comments? What do you think the line will look like Week 1? Let us know in the comments below!

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